After three years of waiting, fans of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal were rewarded at New York Comic Con this weekend by the surprise reveal of the Season 3 teaser trailer. Confirmed for renewal at the Annecy Festival in 2023, the next chapter will introduce an even darker twist as our early hominid hero returns as an undead hulk in January 2026.
In an interview with Collider earlier this year, creator Tartakovsky (who is also the animation visionary behind Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania and Fixed) shared: “It’s a new level. Everything that we did in the first season, we upped a bit in the second season, and the third season is even more. I can’t say anything without giving everything away, but it’s just more, and it’s shocking, and it’s unstoppable. At some point, you’re like, ‘I can’t believe I’m watching this.’ Quality-wise, animation-wise, story-wise, emotionally, I don’t want to oversell it, but rarely have I been proud of a project like this.”
Primal originally launched in 2019, introducing audiences to a gritty, anachronistically reconfigured prehistory where early humans, dinosaurs and metal-wielding Homo sapiens all exist. The no- to limited-dialog saga centers on a neanderthal name Spear (vocalized by Aaron LaPlante) and a remarkably intelligent T. rex named Fang (Joel Valentine) who join forces after they both lose their families in this unforgiving world. Season 2 premiered in 2022, and culminated in the death of Spear and a glimpse down the timeline of his daughter with Mira (Laëtitia Eïdo) embarking on her own journey with Fang and the dino’s own offspring.
“Most shows would have a hard time continuing after the main character is killed off, but this isn’t most shows. Leave it to Genndy and team to keep us all in suspense as Primal continues its adventure,” Adult Swim, Cartoon Network & Boomerang President Michael Ouweleen said at the time of the S3 announcement.
In discussing the third season return with Entertainment Weekly, Tartakovsky shared, “Yeah! [Spear’s] a zombie. I’m not gonna talk about how he became one. We’ll obviously reveal it in the show. I finished the [Season 2] story and I was moving on. Then I started to have second thoughts. I just spent 20 episodes having people care, and then I kill off the main character, which is okay, but then, what are my options? … And because we had that ‘Plague of Madness’ episode in the first season where it was a zombie dinosaur, this is part of our world.”
“What’s great about it is it flows right to the next. So it’s in the same world, same everything,” the creator added. “There’s dinosaur and man, then there’s different civilizations, and then now there’s this thing happening. I imagine this world has a lot of different parts, and some parts aren’t discovered. Some people don’t go into other parts because they know [not to]. So it’s this f—ed up world that’s really crazy, and now we’ve entered this part, but you feel like it’s the same show. It’s amped up and the story’s crazy, but it feels like you’re watching a Primal episode. It’s not a reboot, it’s none of those things.”
Across its first two seasons, Primal racked up a number of accolades, including the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for S1 (nominated for S2) and four Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation honors, as well as two Annie Awards for S1 (Best General Audience – TV, Directing – TV) and a nomination for S2 (Production Design – TV).
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal Season 3 is produced by Cartoon Network Studio, and once again will feature animation by Studio La Cachette in France (Star Wars: Visions).
[H/T Geek Tyrant]
