‘Golden Axe’ Trailer Reveals the Animated Series Based on Sega’s Classic Video Game!! Check It Out!!

Fantasy is often a very serious genre. There’s not a lot of room for humor in series like The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, amidst the betrayals, dramatic deaths, and epic battle scenes. That’s where Paramount+ comes in with a new adaptation of Golden Axe, the classic Sega arcade game that’s now a rib-tickling animated series. Introduced in 1989, Golden Axe was a classic quarter-muncher that allowed players to choose from one of three characters: the axe-wielding dwarf Gilius Thunderhead; the barbarian swordsman Ax Battler; and the amazonian warrior Tyris Flare. All three sought vengeance against the evil overlord Death Adder, who served as the game’s final boss. The game was a hit, and spawned several sequels, with the latest being released in 2008.

All three warriors take center stage in the new trailer for Golden Axe: the uncouth Gilius Thunderhead (Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay), the lovable Ax Battler (Liam McIntyre, Spartacus: Vengeance), and the stoic Tyris Flare (Lisa Gilroy, Interior Chinatown), as well as Chronos “Evil” Lait (Carl Tart, Grand Crew), a panther-man from the game’s sequels. They’re on a quest to destroy Death Adder, and Tyris’ plan should sound familiar to anyone who’s spent some time in an arcade: “Face a series of progressively harder enemies, until we have a big final battle with Death Adder.” They’re joined by Hampton Squib (Danny Pudi, Community), a would-be adventurer who becomes part of the party…whether his cohorts like it or not. All ten episodes of the series will debut on Paramount+ on Wednesday, September 16.

Who Are the Creatives Behind ‘Golden Axe’?

If you’re still mourning Star Trek: Lower Decks, Paramount+ has good news. Lower Decks mastermind Mike McMahan co-wrote the first episode of Golden Axe and is an executive producer on the series. Joe Chandler, a veteran of American Dad, also co-wrote the pilot and serves as executive producer and showrunner. Sega‘s Haruki Satomi, Shuji Utsumi, and Toru Nakahara will also executive produce alongside Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, and Toby Ascher of Original Film. Titmouse, the studio behind series like Metalocalypse, The Venture Bros, and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, animates the series, with Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, and Ben Kalina serving as executive producers.