Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons Network inked a deal with Marvel Ent. for the exclusive television debut of the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man: The Animated Series. Wolverine is being co-produced with Toonz Ent. Pte Ltd., Singapore and First Serve International Ltd., and Iron Man is a co-production with Method Films in France. Both of the 26-episode, half-hour series are slated to premiere in the first quarter of 2009.
Wolverine and the X-Men begins as an explosive event shatters the lives of the X-Men and takes away their mentor, Professor X. The beaten heroes, including Beast, Storm, Cyclops and Nightcrawler, walk away from it all but are given a rare glimpse into the future, seeing a world in utter ruin and ruled by giant destructive robots. They discover the world has spiraled out of control because the X-Men have given up. Now Wolverine must take the lead on the ultimate mission’to prevent the world’s destruction while fending off enemies Magneto and The Brotherhood.
Iron Man: The Animated Series will follow the adventures of Tony Stark, a mechanical and scientific whiz who is also the heir to a billion-dollar corporation. His life of luxury is interrupted when a tragic accident robs him of his father and nearly costs him his own life. Now dependent on his own impressive technology for survival and dedicated to battling corruption, Stark must reconcile the pressure of teenage life with the duties of an iron-clad super hero.
The animated shows will benefit from two new major motion pictures making their way to the big screen. Paramount will release Marvel’s Iron Man on May 2, while Warner Bros. preps X-Men Origins: Wolverine for release on May 1, 2009. Directed by Jon Favreau (Zathura, Elf) Iron man stars Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, with Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges rounding out the main cast. X-Men Origins: Wolverine will see Hugh Jackman return to the title role in a story that examines the roots of Logan’s transformation into a blade-wielding superhero.
Method Films has produced CG-animated series for a number of international broadcasters including Nicktoons, BBC, ITV, France 2, France 3 and ABC Australia. The studio has also created, produced, and financed a significant number of in-house TV series such as Skyland and Mikido, and has also worked on recreating other properties including Cosmic Quantum Ray in co-production with Taffy Ent., and the upcoming series Wakfu, a co-production with Ankama Animations.
Toonz Ent. Pte Ltd., Singapore has produced animation for major studios and television networks around the globe through its production facility, Toonz Animation India Pvt Ltd. The company’s clientele includes The Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros, MGM, Lions Gate, Sony Pictures, Hyde Park Ent., Marvel and Cartoon Network.
