by Jeremy Fuscaldo
On Thursday at New York Comic Con, animation legend Genndy Tartakovsky revealed a first look at Primal Season 3, including a teaser trailer for the Adult Swim series.
Primal follows the Neanderthal Spear and his female Tyrannosaurus rex companion, Fang, who team up to survive after losing their families. The series takes place in a fantastical, anachronistic, prehistoric world in which Spear and Fang battle dinosaurs, mammals, and other forces.
Season 3 is slated for debut in January 2026. Watch the teaser trailer—which reveals a zombie Spear, among other things—below.
During Thursday’s panel, Tartakovsky shared insight into his development of the series and some concept art, including character designs, visual development sketches, and more. Initially, the idea for Primal included an animal character not dissimilar to a deer, but that didn’t sit right, so Tartakovsky reshaped it until Spear came to life.
Following the Primal Season 3 teaser trailer, Tartakovsky shared design sketches for zombie Spear. We were also shown Hyena sketches and designs created by artist Scott Wills, one of Tartakovsky’s frequent collaborators.
During the audience Q&A, Tartakovsky answered one of the first fan’s questions about his creative process and shared insight on how his doodles later come back into his projects. He also shared how he would love to draw comics again, like the Luke Cage series simply entitled Cage that he did for Marvel.
Tartakovsky also talked about working with Tyler Bates on Primal and Samurai Jack. One fan asked about the fate of Dexter and Dee Dee from Dexter’s Lab, and he said that they’re living it up.
In terms of ideas, Tartakovsky shared that he tries not to revisit old ideas and instead tries to find new angles to make ideas feel more exciting, without feeling like a repeat. For instance, when he was composing the choreography of Samurai Jack, he used no video references—just drawings, music, and vague inspiration from the old Bruce Lee films he grew up watching.
He shared that does a lot of thumb nailing when he is directing and that one of the challenges is to make an episode or direct a scene without using dialogue. Although iconic in their own right, he said Dexter’s Lab and The Powerpuff Girls were training grounds for production on Primal.
When one fan asked about the possibility of AI being used in his projects, Tartakovsky jokingly admitted that he hates this question. However, he also promised that he has no intention of using AI in his shows or movies. He also noted that when a famous director used AI in their movie, it led to hundreds or even thousands of industry professionals losing their jobs. “Cheaper and faster” doesn’t mean better.
When it was my turn to ask a question, I asked him what advice he would have for artists and filmmakers who are trying to pursue their dream to work in the animation, in spite of the concerns with how the industry is going right now. His answer was to keep doing what you love; if you love what you do and want to keep doing it—then do it.
Tartakovsky noted that the animation industry has been going through a series of peaks and valleys, but he believes it will see a brighter day. He also said social media can be a helpful tool for artists who are trying to share their work and be discovered by other industry professionals.
Having grown up with Tartakovsky’s Cartoon Network shows and his Star Wars: Clone Wars, among other projects, I was grateful for the opportunity to hear him speak.
Primal Season 3 debuts on Adult Swim in January 2026.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from NYCC ’25.
English (US) · 