If Netflix has proven anything, it’s that the streaming service has found a way to make international TV series play well globally, outside their home countries. That can be seen just in your own Netflix account, which at any time might have a Mexican series next to the latest Korean drama alongside a German sci-fi show. This has led to the streaming giant becoming a massive worldwide distribution company. So it should be no surprise that the latest animated shows they announced in Singapore are going to end up finding their way to TV screens across the world.
Netflix unveiled their latest group of shows yesterday aimed at Asian audiences with a focus on Japanese-style animation (via Variety). However, the streaming service is banking on some popular intellectual properties to draw some interest from its global users. Netflix announced plans for a “Pacific Rim” animated series, based on the popular live-action films that were a massive hit globally, as well as a new series based on the live-action Netflix Original, “Altered Carbon.”
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Both series will take place in the existing continuity of the IPs, with “Altered Carbon” telling a story that won’t be seen in the upcoming Season 2, which is being produced right now with Anthony Mackie starring. For anime fans, you’ll be excited to know that the animated “Altered Carbon” is written by Dai Sato, who is probably best known for “Cowboy Bebop,” and Tsukasa Kondo.
“The beauty of Netflix is that we can take never-seen-before stories from South Korea, Thailand, Japan, India, Taiwan or elsewhere, and easily connect them to people all over Asia and the world,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said. “More than half of Asian content hours viewed on Netflix this year are viewed outside the region, so we have confidence that our upcoming slate of Asian productions will find fans in their home countries and abroad.”
“Pacific Rim” will follow two siblings, an idealistic teenage boy and his younger sister, who are forced to use an abandoned Jaeger (aka massive robot) to navigate a hostile territory to find their missing parents. As mentioned, the series will expand on the story of the first two films.
No word on a release date for this projects.