Joe Henderson, one of the showrunners behind the mega-hit Lucifer, is set to serve as executive producer for Energon Universe, a new, adult animated series based on the interconnected universe of comic books from Robert Kirkman‘s Skybound.
Henderson will run the show for Hasbro and Skybound. The series, which will bring together characters from G.I. Joe, Transformers, Void Rivals, and presumably M.A.S.K., has no streamer or network attached yet. The plan is to take it out to distributors soon, according to Deadline, who first broke the story.
The Energon Universe has become arguably Image Comics’ most successful licensed property ever published, after initially debuting as a complete surprise at the end of Void Rivals #1. After that comic, Skybound launched G.I. Joe and Transformers series, with the three worlds constantly overlapping and crossing over.
Void Rivals, created with artist Lorenzo De Felici, marks the original Skybound IP that underpins the Energon Universe. Obviously, the other properties are decades-old Hasbro properties that have had their own popular animated and live-action adaptations.
The Energon Universe comics have been so successful that they set numerous sales records, and Transformers earned a pair of Edgar Awards in 2024. The world has enjoyed acclaim rarely enjoyed by licensed comics.
Transformers #25 — the first issue from writer Robert Kirkman and artist Dan Mora — recently released, and it introduced M.A.S.K. villain Miles Mayhem to the series, revealed to be part of a secret government project in league with the Autobots.
The end of 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts featured a sequel tease that set up the idea of Autobot ally Noah Diaz joining G.I. Joe, but the movie underperformed, and current plans are to return the Transformers franchise to Michael Bay’s control, presumably putting plans for the G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover film on ice.
While Transformers has been a presence in the animation space more or less constantly for the last 40 years, G.I. Joe‘s success has been a lot more sporadic. Energon Universe, though, will be an adult animated series, with Deadline‘s story drawing comparisons to Kirkman’s Invincible. Obviously, the Energon Universe comics aren’t as brutal and uncompromising as Invincible, and it would be difficult to imagine Hasbro signing off on that…but it’s also likely going to be the most violent and adult G.I. Joe or Transformers animated series ever made either way.
Hasbro Entertainment’s aggressive film and TV slate includes upcoming projects based on everything from Clue and Dungeons & Dragons to My Little Pony and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with distribution partners reaching across the a variety of TV networks and streamers.
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