Renowned animated showrunner A.C. Bradley (What..if?, Ms. Marvel) and Emmy award-winning director Rodrigo Blaas (Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia) are on board for the upcoming animated TV series Warrior Cats, an adaptation of the best-selling children’s fantasy novels.
Publishers Coolabi Group and Chinese online giant Tencent Video have greenlit the series, adapted from Erin Hunter’s novels about battling clans of feral cats, which have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. The series will be the first authorized animated adaptation of Warrior Cats and will be based on the first series of books: Warrior Cats: The Prophecies Begin.
The series has begun production, in collaboration with Blaas’ Madrid-based El Guiri Studios, and is set to debut in 2028 on Tencent Video’s platforms across China and South East Asia.
Tencent and Coolabi are also in development on an animated Warrior Cats film adaptation. Harry Potter producer David Heyman was initially attached to an early live-action CG Warrior Cats film set up with China’s Alibaba Pictures, but that project has been abandoned.
“We’re excited to partner with Coolabi on Warrior Cats, a franchise that embodies the future of global storytelling,” said Tina Ma, Co President & COO of Tencent Video in a statement. “Together we’re bringing the beloved Warrior Cats world to new platforms and markets in a way that feels both familiar and fresh, creating an animated series designed to captivate existing fans and win new ones.”
Warrior Cats is a true global phenomenon. In addition to the books, which have been translated into 38 languages, user-generated Warrior Cats content draws more than 50 million views on YouTube and nearly 3 billion views on TikTok per month, accorind to Coolabi. The Warrior Cats game on Roblox has been played more than 728 million times.
The Warrior Cats series follows a retail tie-in between Coolabi and Bonkers Toys in the U.S. which has seen the rollout of the first licenced Warrior Cats toys.
“We anticipate a whirlwind year ahead for the brand,” noted Allison Watkins, Director of Consumer Products and TV Distribution at Coolabi Group.
