Based on American author Scott Westerfeld’s book trilogy, the steampunk anime series Leviathan offers an alternative history of World War I, where the world is divided by the Central Powers (“Clankers”) who use mechanized walkers and the Triple Entente (“Darwinists”) who genetically fabricate living creatures for use in battle. The 10-part animated series, which debuted on Netflix this summer, was produced by Justin Leach (Star Wars: Visions) and Taiki Sakurai (Cyberpunk: Edgerunners) and directed by Christophe Ferreira. The 12-part production was a joint venture between Qubic Pictures and Japan’s Orange studio (Beastars, Trigun Stampede).
Series producer and animation veteran Justin Leach, who announced last week that he’s working on an anime adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, answered a few of our questions about this highly original steampunk show:
Congrats on the success of Leviathan on Netflix last month. You’ve said that you were drawn to the project, because it’s a story of understanding and finding yourself set in a historical drama tied to a world war. Can you tell us a little bit more about how you became involved with it?
Justin Leach: So, yes, we first started having discussion with Netflix back in 2019 to adapt this book series written by Scott Westerfeld and illustrated by Keith Thompson. Then, we had to figure out who we were going to work with, etc. but overall, it took us about five years to complete the project. Of course, while we were working on this, we were also lining up our next projects. We’ve been working closely with LucasFilm on Star Wars: Visions (Vol. 3) which comes out on October 29. After that, there will be a Star Wars: Visions spinoff series titled The Ninth Jedi, which takes one of the shorts from the first volume and extends it into a series. Many years ago, I used to work at Lucasfilm Animation: In fact, I was one of the first employees that started there. I worked on The Clone Wars, and helped set up the pipeline there, and got to work on the first two season in various roles.
Could you give us give us some background on your company Qubic Pictures and the kind of projects you specialize in?
So, Qubic Pictures was founded officially in 2019. A company existed before that which was called Android pictures, and we produced a short film called Kick-Heart, which was the first crowdfunded anime project that was directed by Masaki Yuasa. Then, I had the opportunity to pitch the four-episode series Eden to Netflix. That was the project that officially launched Qubic for Netflix: Our specialty is trying to bridge the anime content business with the western animation business, so we’re always looking to have really interesting collaborations that you might not normally see in Japan. We really love anime and the creative community in Japan, so our mission is to find ways to expand the audience for anime, find projects that will appeal to audiences that don’t usually watch anime as well as the usual fans. As everyone can see, the demand is really high for anime. Another interesting thing about Japan is that they’ve been doing producing 2D animation successfully, when we don’t see traditional animation in the U.S. as much, especially on the feature side. So, our goal is to bridge the two cultures and expand the appeal of anime.
Where are you based?
Qubic is based in New York and Tokyo. The bulk of the studio is in Japan, and I’m based out of New York. I fly out to Tokyo every three or four months for the various projects that we’re working on. We want to work with the creators directly in Japan to build the relationships with the studios, so we feel it’s important to have a strong presence in both places. I feel that New York has had a long history with Japanese animation, with companies like Central Park Media and Eric Beckman’s GKIDS, Maybe there’s something in the DNA of East Coasters that matches the anime sensibility. It’s kind of a small community, and we all know each other pretty well.
What did you love about Leviathan and your experience of making the show?
I think what’s so interesting about Leviathan is that it truly represents how we are trying to find the right balance between East and West. We want to innovate and try new things and combinations. On this project, we had a French director, American producers, a Japanese animation studio and Japanese writer. We were all working side by side. One of the things that we decided from the beginning was that we wanted to treat Orange and all our creative partners in Japan as equal partners. It wasn’t your traditional service studio model, where we developed the story and tell them, “Please make our story in your style.” Instead, we put together a very talented international team, and we all worked on the same story, and the whole thing was quite unique and special.
And what were the biggest challenges for this international team?
The deadline! I mean, I think there are always challenges in terms of the different languages. It requires a lot of patience and understanding on both sides. What’s interesting about Leviathan which is about two cultures coming together, we were also doing that on the production side as well. Of course, there are a lot of challenges involved, but I feel that we were able to navigate all those challenges and come up with something that were all very proud of in the end. Orange is a studio that really care about the quality of animation, and that’s always the challenge when you have a certain schedule, and you want to make everything better, so we just have to manage that.
How many projects does Qubic work on at the same time?
We usually work on three or four projects. There might be three projects in production simultaneously in various stages of production. Then, we have another three or four in early development or pre-production. We’re very scalable because we’re mostly a producing company, but I would say we usually run three to four productions simultaneously.
Can you walk us through some of the projects on tap for Qubic in the near future?
It’s been great working with the team at Lucasfilm. They’ve been really great partners and I feel extremely thankful for their partnership. I’ve always dreamed of creating Star Wars in anime, and when they approached me with the opportunity, I jumped on it. It didn’t require any thought, and I instantly said, “Yes, I’d love to help!” So, we’ve been working together for many years. I just feel so lucky to visit and work with all these different studio partners, and see what they come up with as their interpretation of Star Wars. It’s just so exciting to see people with a passion for Star Wars make their own stories and present them in a way that is really unique and appealing.
There’s one short in particular that we showed at Annecy this year. It’s called Black (part of Star Wars: Visions, Volume 3) by Shinya Ohira, which is simply such an amazing creative expression. When you see these people coming together and creating something like that, you just feel a sense of gratitude to have been able to be part of it.
What can you tell us about your recently announced adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera?
As someone who’s always been passionate about both musical theatre and Japanese animation, this project is a dream come true. I’m thrilled to team up with LW Entertainment on The Phantom of the Opera anime, a bold international collaboration that embodies Qubic Pictures’ mission to bridge cultures through unforgettable storytelling. This project is a rare opportunity to unite the grandeur of musical theater with the artistry of Japanese animation — two beloved traditions that have touched audiences around the world. Our goal is to create a timeless and emotionally resonant experience that speaks to a global audience and honors the legacy of this iconic story.
When did you find yourself being drawn to the world of animation?
My father was a movie projectionist. He also had a whole bunch of Disney cels in the house as well as these 16 mm Disney clips that he’d share with me. So, I was very inspired by Disney animation from an early age. At one point, I even wanted to be a Disney animator. I went to school and studied at Ringling School of Art and Design (Florida). Originally, I studied illustration, but when I got there, I saw that they had this really amazing computer animation program, so I kind of pivoted to computer animation. That was the early 1990s, and they were really pioneering stuff there. They showed us Toy Story before it actually came out. I just remember being so inspired by all the work that was being done in CG. Also, when I was at school, I remember they showed us Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky in the rec room, and I was just blown away by the animation and what was possible to do in that world. I thought this is the type of action adventure stuff that I want to make. That’s where I was really inspired. I had watched some anime earlier — films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell were also big influences. Later, I got the opportunity to work on the Ghost in the Shell sequel, when I went to Japan, and then after that, I worked at Blue Sky for several years.
This is the part where we ask you about your take on the chaotic state of the animation business in 2025!
Hollywood is certainly going through a lot of challenges right now. I know a lot of my friends are currently looking for work. It has been really troubling to see that. But at the same time, I just feel like we’re going through a transitional stage. I think we’re trying to figure out the creator economy versus the Hollywood system. We are seeing more indie creators finding ways to tell their stories, and there are a lot of tools like Blender available now that make it easier to produce. A lot of people in Japan are using free applications like Blender. There are growing communities around that software, certainly in Japan there’s an indie anime movement. Lots of independent creators are trying to develop their own ideas. There are many people out there who are trying to figure out how can we produce more original content in a way that works on a financial and business way. It’s easy to make short films like that, but once you start to get to the feature film, it’s harder. But people have shown that it can be done. Of course, Flow is a great example of that. I do feel that people are trying to figure out how we came something that works within the streaming world
With the old theatrical model, it was easy for producers to get things like residuals and profit sharing, in the new streaming business, it’s very difficult to get, so it’s hard for producers to create sustainable businesses. That’s why we are seeing the studios just putting a narrow focus on big IP’s. Most companies are scaling back in Hollywood, but I think it’s still a great time for independent creators to find opportunities to share their. Because of the creator economy, anyone can publish their work anywhere. Things are no longer controlled by the distributors anymore, so if you have a great idea and a great story, and you can find a way to make it and get people to see it.
You can learn more about Justin Leach and his company at qubicpictures.com.
