Paramount’s Golden Axe animated series gets a trailer and a release date
Paramount’s Golden Axe series was announced back in 2024 and now, two years later, the entire ten-episode series has a September release date. An animated take on Sega’s video game series, it’ll see barbarian Ax Battler, amazon Tyris Flare and dwarf Gilius Thunderhead fighting to free the land from the grip of the evil Death Adder.
However, it’s set to be a great deal sillier than its source material, thanks in part to the addition of a fourth ‘warrior’. “Their quest is complicated by Hampton Squib, an inexperienced and wildly underprepared adventurer whose dream of heroism far exceeds his abilities,” reads the blurb.
Squib does not have a good time of it, with the trio using him to test traps. Will he ultimately earn the others’ grudging respect? Probably not, but the trailer, which you can watch below, suggests he won’t be the only new recruit, joined by a glowing skeleton and an extra from Thundercats.
The response to the Golden Axe series has been mixed. Comments on the video include “So this is where the fired writers from Rick and Morty went,” “I think I’ll play the original Golden Axe games and just forget that this exists,” and “Based on the game series you love. Made for people who’ve never played it.” Ouch.
Personally, I can’t wait to watch it. I’m old enough to remember Fleetway’s Sonic the Comic and, while it had a Golden Axe series, what really stood out was its Urban Strike strip. Rather than being a tired rehash of the arcade game, it satirised the gung-ho attitude of military shooters and, over 20 years later, it still sticks in my head.
As someone who put hour after hour into the Mega Drive’s Golden Axe port (you can’t beat calling in a dragon to immolate your foes), I’d sooner have this than another bog-standard swords and sorcery show. Let’s face it, Golden Axe was never strong on story. Seeing this show mock its gnome-booting mechanic, however, absolutely had me grinning.
Golden Axe debuts on Paramount Plus this September 10th, with every episode dropping at once. Sega did previously announce a new Golden Axe game was in the works, but there’s been no news since.
