Giant robots from outer space will be marching onto Netflix this summer, stepping onto the streaming platform's burgeoning lineup of exceptional animated fare.
Netflix's upcoming 3D animated series, "Mech Cadets," began life as a 12-issue Boom! Studios comic book title for grade-school kids published from 2017-18.
Now, this new 10-episode series adaptation is set to stream globally starting on Aug. 10, 2023 from Japanese animation studio Polygon Pictures Inc. ("Love, Death, + Robots," "Star Wars: Resistance"). The full pilot episode screens next month as an official selection at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.
Related: The best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Netflix in May
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As revealed by Boom! Studios this past week, "Mech Cadets" showcases the vocal talents of Daniel Dae Kim ("Lost"), Ming-Na Wen ("The Mandalorian"), Brandon Soo Hoo ("Teen Titans: The Judas Contract") and Debra Wilson ("Family Guy," "MADtv").
Aaron Lam ("Ash Vs. The Evil Dead") acts as the action-oriented sci-fi series' head writer and executive producer with Tohru Patrick Awa ("Super Mario Bros. Movie") working as supervising director. "Mech Cadets" is executive produced by Shuzo John Shiota and Jack Liang for Polygon Pictures, Inc. and Boom! Studios' Stephen Christy and Ross Richie.
Here's the official series synopsis:
Adapted from the bestselling Boom! Studios comic series "Mech Cadet Yu" by acclaimed AAPI creators Greg Pak ("World War Hulk") and Takeshi Miyazawa ("Runaways"), the series is set fifty years in the future, after a terrifying alien species attacked our planet, and follows teenager Stanford Yu who works as a janitor at the Sky Corps Military Academy. But he’s only dreamed of one thing his entire life — to pilot a Robo Mech, giant robots from outer-space who came to our aid. When he finally gets his shot, Stanford and his classmates must put aside all personal differences and work together as a team in order to defend humanity against a new alien invasion.
Brandon Soo Hoo will play Stanford Yu, the underdog teen employed in sanitation at Sky Corps who yearns to become a Robo Pilot. Daniel Dae Kim plays General Aiden Park, the combat-scarred leader of Sky Corps Academy and the Mech Cadet program. Ming-Na Wen portrays Dolly Yu, Stanford’s overbearing mom and supervisor of Sky Corp's janitorial staff. Debra Wilson voices Chief Max, an ex-Robo pilot, head of Engineering at Sky Corp, and older advisor to the young trainees.
Ahead of the series premiere in August, Boom! Studios is publishing a complete collection of Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa’s middle-grade sci-fi classic, "Mech Cadet Yu," retitled as "Mech Cadets." This 320-page paperback gathers "Mech Cadet Yu #1-12" and will be released on May 17, 2023.
Netflix's "Mech Cadets" series storms onto the streaming titan on Aug. 10, 2023.
