All 10 episodes of “Golden Axe” land on Paramount+ on September 16.
The animated comedy is an adaptation of the beloved Sega video game series, which began with the original “Golden Axe” in 1989 as a side-scrolling beat-’em-up set in a vaguely medieval fantasy world full of magic and monsters. The series was originally announced in 2024 for Comedy Central, with a voice cast that includes Matthew Rhys, Lisa Gilroy, Danny Pudi and Liam McIntyre.
In the years since, it has gone from Comedy Central to Paramount+ and now, with its release date looming, we have a brand-new trailer. Watch it below.
According to the official synopsis, the new show “follows legendary warriors Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead as they reunite to save Yuria from the evil giant Death Adder, who just won’t seem to stay dead. Their quest is complicated by Hampton Squib, an inexperienced and wildly underprepared adventurer whose dream of heroism far exceeds his abilities. Forced to work together despite their flaws, they must find a way to stop Death Adder once and for all.”
The show is produced by CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, CBS Studios’ animation arm; Sony Pictures Television; and Original Film. “Solar Opposites” and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” creator Mike McMahan and “American Dad” vet Joe Chandler co-wrote the first episode and co-created and executive produce the series, with Chandler serving as the “Golden Axe” showrunner.
There are a lot of winningly irreverent moments in the trailer, particularly about how much the show mirrors the video game that came before it. And we love the fact that it even looks like 1980’s animated fare, too, whether that’s Ralph Bakshi’s “Fire and Ice,” Don Bluth’s “The Secret of NIMH” or the late 1970’s Rankin/Bass adaptation of “The Hobbit.”
The original “Golden Axe” game was followed by several sequels, including 1991’s “Golden Axe II” for the Sega Genesis, 1992’s “Golden Axe III: The Revenge of the Death Adder” for arcades and 1993’s “Golden Axe III,” which was initially only available in America (in 1995) on the Sega Channel online platform. There were also spinoffs that swapped the classic beat-’em-up formula for RPG, “Zelda”-style action adventure and fighting game mechanics.
Sega’s Haruki Satomi, Shuji Utsumi and Toru Nakahara will executive produce alongside Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty and Toby Ascher of Original Film. Titmouse serves as the animation studio for the series with Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio and Ben Kalina serving as executive producers.
Hack and slash with “Golden Axe” Sept. 16 on Paramount+.
