News

Supernatural The Animation Project Launched From Japan

The official Japanese website of the Warner Brothers production company has opened a section on Thursday to reveal the Supernatural the Animation project, which will launch from Japan in January of 2011. The "special project" will tie into the American live-action television series Supernatural. The website promises that the new project will be an animated work that no one has seen before. It does not indicate whether the project will be Japanese-animated or not.

The live-action series follows the Winchester brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) as they hunt creatures and other supernatural phenomena across the American landscape. The series premiered on The WB network in the United States in 2005, and it will enter its sixth season on The WB's replacement network, The CW, this fall. The fifth season of the live-action series will ship in Japan this fall, along with the Blu-ray versions of the second through fourth seasons.

Warner Brothers has been involved in several Japanese-animated projects based on American entertainment properties, including The Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight, Halo Legends, and most recently, Thundercats. The studio has also acquired the film rights for Akira, Death Note, and Ninja Scroll, and has reportedly been in talks for the rights to the Bleach manga.

Thanks to CY for the news tip.

Update: More background information added.

Image © 2006 Warner Bros. Entertainment