Crunchyroll, the global anime brand that recently surpassed the five million subscriber mark, is announcing today the development of Dark Star Squadron, an epic animated space opera, in partnership with Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures. Todd Ludy (Voltron: Legendary Defender) is onboard to write with Zoe Saldana, Cisely Saldana and Mariel Saldana of Cinestar Pictures serving as executive producers. Sonia A. Gambaro and Maytal Gilboa from Pollinate Entertainment are also producing.
“The tremendous growth of our streaming service is indicative of the growing love for anime and its deserved spotlight in popular culture,” said Joanne Waage, General Manager, Crunchyroll. “Zoe and her team are bringing their own anime fandom to their storytelling and we’re excited to be a part of it.”
Dark Star Squadron follows the journey of four failing cadets who return from a joyride with a stolen starship to find their academy in ruins and everyone vanished. Now on their own, the ill-equipped heroes embark for the far side of the galaxy to find the missing and prove their worth.
“As true animation and anime fans ourselves, we are so excited for the opportunity to partner with Crunchyroll to bring Dark Star Squadron to a wide audience,” said Cinestar’s Zoe, Cisely and Mariel Saldana. “We can’t wait for everyone to meet the crew and follow the journey of our unlikely heroes.”
“We’re elated to be working with such a talented creative team on the development of Dark Star Squadron, a new fantasy adventure series,” said Sarah Victor, Head of Development, Crunchyroll. “We love working with creators who are passionate about telling stories through anime and we can’t wait to bring this interstellar epic to fans across the galaxy.”
Crunchyroll offers fans a robust anime library of more than 1,000 titles and 30,000 episodes to fans in more than 200 countries and territories. The global brand has more than 5 million subscribers, 120 million registered users and more than 60 million followers across social media.
Best known as a top streaming service delivering AVOD and SVOD content, Crunchyroll also provides experiences to deepen fan engagement and community through social, events, games, consumer products, content distribution, content creation and manga publishing.
Cinestar Pictures was co-founded by sisters Mariel, Cisely and Zoe Saldana with a focus on broadening the American narrative and creating meaningful, character-driven content. Committed to honest portrayals of women and accurate representation of the America we live in, Cinestar produces contemporary, multicultural stories for everyone.
