News
Bakugan Battle Planet TV Series Casts Jonah Wineberg, Ticoon Kim, Deven Mack
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The Vanderwerff Talent agency revealed two cast members on October 10 for the Bakugan Battle Planet television animation series. Jonah Wineberg will play the main character Dan, and Ticoon Kim will play Shun. Deven Mack also revealed that he will play Wynton Styles (seen below).
In addition, the C21 Media website reported on Saturday that the series will have 50 30-minute episodes or 100 11-minute episodes.
Canadian toy and media company Spin Master, in collaboration with TMS Entertainment and Corus Entertainment's Nelvana subsidiary, formally announced their relaunch of the Bakugan franchise on October 9. The relaunch involves a new toy line as well as the new television animation series.
The series will premiere in the United States on Cartoon Network and in Canada on Teletoon in December. It will also air on Cartoon Network in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America in 2019, and in Australia and New Zealand on an as-yet unspecified date.
Spin Master describes the new series:
The animated series follows the adventures of Dan and his best friends, the first kids on Earth to bond with the mysterious alien creatures known as the Bakugan. With storylines themed around friendship, battling and competition combined with a new integrated toy line, "Bakugan Battle Planet" is anticipated to be one of the biggest and most dynamic franchises yet.
In addition to the series, Spin Master noted that it will have "additional short form content" available online. It also opened a teaser website with a reveal slated for December 1.
Cartoon Network Enterprises is leading the franchise's licensing program in all territories except Asia. Takara Tomy will launch the toy line in Japan, and TMS Entertainment will manage distribution of the toys, series, and the licensing program. The toy line will launch in North America and "other select markets" in the first quarter of 2019, and will launch globally in the second quarter of 2019.
Spin Master announced in 2015 that it was planning a relaunch of Bakugan, and shared some concept art. The company then announced last November that it was aiming to have the relaunch out within 2018 or 2019. The company also filed a trademark for "Bakugan Battle Planet" in the same month. Nelvana and TMS Entertainment joined the project in January.
The Bakugan franchise is based on Spin Master and Sega Toys' combination of metal cards and marble-like magnetic toys that automatically transform into figures during gameplay. The franchise has been a bestseller in North America, and it won honors at Toy Fair's annual Toy of the Year Awards in 2009.
America's Cartoon Network began showing the first Bakugan Battle Brawlers anime series in February of 2008. Three sequel television series—Bakugan Battle Brawlers: New Vestroia, Bakugan Gundalian Invaders, and Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge—followed, the last of which premiered in Canada and the United States in 2011. Baku Tech! Bakugan Gachi, a spinoff series adapting a manga by SHINGO, premiered in Japan in 2013.
Thanks to Jonathan Andrade for the news tip.
Sources: C21 Media (Clive Whittingham), Vanderwerff Talent's Twitter account, Deven Mack's Twitter account
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