Let the nostalgia continue! It's not just sitcoms that are enjoying the recent wave of revivals. Cartoons are getting in on the action too! Cartoon Network is bringing back the animated series ThunderCats. The reboot is entitled ThunderCats Roar, and that is not the only thing we know about the newest reboot of the 80's series.
The reboot will reprise the premise of the original series. As the original did, the new series will chronicle the adventures of Lion-O and the ThunderCats, which includes Tygra, Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykat, and Wilykit, all of whom escape their home planet, Thundera, before its destruction. So think what happened on Krypton, just with cat aliens.
The ThunderCats eventually crash land on Third Earth, a puzzling and alien plant. Having been declared Lord of the ThunderCats, Lion-O leads the team as they adjust to their new surroundings and work towards making Third Earth their permanent home. There would not be a story without a villain though, and that's where the diabolical Mumm-Ra comes in. Third Earth's depraved ruler will stop at nothing to prevent the end of his reign, including battling the ThunderCats. Has he finally met his match in the ferocious felines? You will have to "toon" in to find out.
Only time will tell if fans of the original ThunderCats embrace the animation style of the new series. The key art (courtesy of EW) for the reboot appears to do away with most of the original animation's feline features. As you can tell from the picture above, the characters in the original series had a feline/human hybrid appearance. In truth, the rebooted version of the characters bears hardly any resemblance to the original characters.
Let your inner "meow" ring out now! The newly announced reboot is not the first time Cartoon Network has attempted to revive the series. The home of cartoons rebooted ThunderCats seven years ago in 2011. That reboot ran until 2012. It was cancelled after one season. So how is the network planning to improve upon that result with ThunderCats Roar? The answer may lie with the reboot's plans to include lots of action, and more comedy than the original. Fans will have to wait a while to see how it will play out.
ThunderCats Roar will premiere on Cartoon Network in 2019. A more specific date was not made available. That may seem like a long time from now, but there is a lot of new television that can entertain you in the meantime. You can begin with this summer's premiere schedule. For the latest on the 2018-2019 broadcast season, you can check out our 2018 network TV rundown. If you're in the mood for some streaming video, swing by our 2018 Netflix premiere guide and 2018 Amazon Prime premiere schedule for your options.
