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Pacific Rim and Altered Carbon anime shows are coming to Netflix

Pacific Rim and Altered Carbon anime shows are coming to Netflix

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Part of a new slate of anime series

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Pacific Rim

Netflix will release a slate of new anime series, including ones based on Pacific Rim and Altered Carbon.

Deadline reports that in addition to the Pacific Rim and Altered Carbon shows, the slate will include Cagaster of an Insect Cage, a series from Gonzo that’s set in a post-apocalyptic world where a disease has turned people into giant insects; Yasuke, which is about a former warrior tasked with protecting a child targeted by dark forces; and Trese, which is based on a Philippine graphic novel about a woman going up against elements of a supernatural criminal underworld. The news comes just a day after Netflix revealed that it was developing an extensive slate of family-oriented animated shows from the creators of Moana, Inside Out, and Finding Dory. Debut dates for the shows have not been set yet.

We’ve known about a possible Pacific Rim anime for a while now, and it makes sense that we’d eventually see one, given the franchise’s roots in mecha anime. Shortly after the first film hit theaters, director Guillermo del Toro spoke about developing an animated show based on the world. (The franchise got a second live-action installment last year.) This show will follow a teenager and his younger sister who pilot an abandoned Jaeger as they try to find their parents. Craig Kyle (Thor: Ragnarok) and Greg Johnson (X-Men: Evolution) will be the series showrunners.

No release date has been set for any of the slate’s projects

Del Toro has also been working closely with Netflix on the DreamWorks animated series Trollhunters, which premiered in 2016 and wrapped its third and final season in May. Buried in this week’s earlier animation announcement was the news that the director would also make his animated film debut with Pinocchio in 2021. Earlier this year, word broke that he’ll also work on a horror anthology series for the streaming service.

Netflix seems to be keen on expanding the world of Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon, the first season of which came out earlier this year. Deadline doesn’t have any indication of what this series will be about, other than that it will “explore new elements of the story mythology.” The show’s first season is set on Earth, but it showed and hinted at numerous other stories lurking in the background. Netflix announced in July that it had renewed the live-action series for an eight-episode second season with a new lead actor, Anthony Mackie, which will presumably follow the next book in the series, Broken Angels. An animated show could easily help flesh out the world and keep fans watching.

Netflix’s new slate adds to its growing library of animated content. Last year, it announced that it was spending $8 billion to bring its library up to 50 percent original content — some of which included 30 new animated shows in 2018. More animated content could help bring in younger viewers as it competes with the likes of Amazon and Crunchyroll.