The Netflix Original Series Stars Jonathan Banks, Parker Posey,
Norm Macdonald, Ashley Tisdale, Justin Long and Features an Exclusive
Song Produced by GRAMMY® Award
Winner Timbaland
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Activision Blizzard, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: ATVI) highly anticipated animated
series Skylanders Academy makes its debut today on Netflix. Based
on Activision Blizzard's Skylanders video game franchise, Skylanders
Academy follows the heroic adventures of Spyro, Eruptor, Stealth
Elf, Jet-Vac and Pop Fizz as they travel the vast Skylands universe,
protecting it from evil-doers. Skylanders Academyis the first
project from Activision Blizzard Studios.
"‘We are so excited to bring Skylanders to families in a new, fun and
exciting way," said Activision Blizzard Studios Co-President Stacey
Sher. "High-quality writing, incredibly talented actors and beautiful
animation make Skylanders Academy an epic adventure for the whole
family."
"With a huge and engaged global fan base, the $3 billion Skylanders
franchise was a natural fit for our first project," said studio
Co-President Nick van Dyk. "Partnering with Netflix means huge new
audiences can meet the Skylanders, while giving millions of fans
worldwide even more of the characters they love."
In Skylanders Academy, as darkness begins to threaten peace in
the Skylands, Master Eon is forced to assemble a ragtag group of heroes
to protect the universe from evil-doers Kaos and the Doom Raiders. Using
their unique blend of personalities and super powers, Spyro and his
fellow Skylanders are called upon to set aside egos as they come
together to maintain harmony and balance in the land.
Created by Toys For Bob, the Skylanders franchise has sold through more
than 250 million toys since pioneering the toys-to-life category in
2011. Earlier this month Activision revealed the Skylanders
Imaginators video game, which gives kids the power to create their
very own Skylanders and bring them to life for the first time.
Season 1 of Skylanders Academy runs for 13 episodes and Season 2
will debut on Netflix in late 2017. Led by showrunner Eric Rogers (Futurama),
the series features the voices of Justin Long (DodgeBall) as
Spyro; Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical) as Stealth Elf;
Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad) as Eruptor; and Norm Macdonald (Saturday
Night Live) as Glumshanks. Additional voice talent includes Susan
Sarandon, Daniel Wu, Bobcat Goldthwait, The Diamond Minecart, Parker
Posey, James Hetfield, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Diamantopoulos and
Harland Williams, among others. The series features the exclusive song
"Harmony" (The Skylanders Academy Theme) produced and performed by GRAMMY®
Award winner Timbaland, featuring Dalton Diehl. Skylanders Academyis
the first Netflix original series to be inspired by a video game
franchise.
Sher and van Dyk are joined by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and
Sander Schwartz, the Emmy® award-winning producer of animated
hits including "The Batman" and "The Aquabats! Super Show!" as the
show's executive producers. Skylanders Academy is animated by the
internationally acclaimed TeamTO studio in France.
Activision Blizzard Studios launched last year to create original
content based on the company's extensive library of iconic and
globally-recognized intellectual properties, which includes some of the
most popular entertainment franchises in the world.
About Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the S&P 500, is the world's most
successful standalone interactive entertainment company. We delight
nearly 500 million monthly active users around the world through
franchises including Activision's Call of Duty®, Destiny and Skylanders®, Blizzard
Entertainment'sWorld of Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Diablo®, Hearthstone®:
Heroes of Warcraft™ and Overwatch®, and King's Candy
Crush™, Pet Rescue™ and Farm Heroes™. The
company is one of the Fortune "100 Best Companies To Work For®."
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has
operations throughout the world, and its games are played in 196
countries. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products
can be found on the company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in
this press release that involves Activision Blizzard and Activision
Blizzard Studios' expectations, plans, intentions or strategies
regarding the future, including statements about the expected release
date of Skylanders Academy, are forward-looking statements that
are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors
that could cause Activision Blizzard and Activision Blizzard Studios'
actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements set forth in this release include
unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk
factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on
Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The
forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information
available to Activision Blizzard and Activision Blizzard Studios as of
the date of this release, and neither Activision Blizzard nor Activision
Blizzard Studios assumes any obligation to update any such
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be
true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements
are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Blizzard and
are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are
beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially
from current expectations.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161028005238/en/
Activision Blizzard, Inc.
Elizabeth Ashford, 424-272-3015
or
PMK
Alison
Deknatel, 310-967-7247
Source: Activision Blizzard, Inc.
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