It appears that Netflix‘s overarching plan to make serious inroads into the animation space is to continue mining well-known IP for inspiration, something that was made perfectly clear by the roster of incoming originals revealed at the DROP 01 event.
In addition to the likes of MonsterVerse offshoot Skull Island, acclaimed video game adaptation Arcane, and Sonic Prime to name but three, the streaming service is doubling, tripling, and even quadrupling down on name recognition. Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft will compete with Prime Video’s incoming live-action shared universe for attention, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Castlevania: Nocturne, Devil May Cry, Far Cry spin-off of a spin-off Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, reboot of a blockbuster bomb Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and Kevin Smith’s ongoing Masters of the Universe: Revolution were all teased in various capacities, even though Netflix abandoned the big budget reimagination of the latter having already funneled tens of millions of dollars into development.
The biggest absentee by far – that’s if you even remember it was announced in the first place – is the anime-inspired Terminator hailing from The Batman co-writer Mattson Tomlin. Revealed to the world in February 2021, the prospect of taking the flagging franchise 2D was an enticing prospect, especially with an imaginative filmmaker like Tomlin involved.
However, that was the first and last we’ve heard of it, which is admittedly fitting given that Salvation, Genisys, and Dark Fate all failed to wake the sci-fi classic from its lengthy slumber. Will it ever come to fruition? We’ll just have to wait and see, but the ongoing radio silence is concerning regardless.