Unicorn: Eternal Warriors, the new animated series from acclaimed director Genndy Tartakovsky, premieres this Thursday at midnight on Adult Swim and Max. In a media landscape largely defined by a deluge of sequels, prequels, reboots, soft reboots, spin-offs and reimaginings, Tartakovsky’s latest feels like a truly precious rarity: an original animated series about a trio of immortal warriors battling through time against a primeval evil and space, and a passion project nearly two decades in the making with genuinely interesting characters, a unique setting, and an inspired steampunk art style.
While Tartakovsky seems to be more focused on producing his own original projects lately, with the premiere of Unicorn: Eternal Warriors and the R-rated comedy feature Fixed this year he will appear at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, but he has not completely shied away from the opportunity to continue some of his beloved series from the past. In addition to a possible third season of primevalprobably aimed at Spear and the daughter of his beloved Mira, Tartakovsky told Polygon that he has another series that he would like the chance to close the book on. It’s one of his lesser-known (but no less ambitious) projects to date, with a passionate cult following of fans who share the creators’ desire to complete the story: Sym-Bionic Titan.
Image: Orphanage Animation Studios / Cartoon Network Studios
“I want to finish it TitanTartakovsky told Polygon via Zoom. “We wrote 10 more episodes; there is more to finish and yes, I would like to do that. It’s just that nobody lets me do it anymore.
The sci-fi action adventure series, which premiered on Cartoon Network in 2010, was Tartakovsky’s love letter to robot tech And Voltron, following the adventures of a heroic trio of alien refugees who crash-land on Earth while escaping their war-torn home planet of Galaluna. Aided by their humanoid android companion Octus, the Galalunan princess Ilana and her protector Lance defend their new adoptive home by teaming up to form a giant humanoid mecha fighter and fight vicious monsters from the depths of space.
While the series ran for two 10-episode seasons from 2010 to 2011, Sym-Bionic Titan was never released on DVD or Blu-ray in the United States, and no merchandise in the form of toys was produced during the run of the series. Although it’s been more than a decade since the show was canceled prematurely, Tartakovsky still hopes to finish the series one day.
Image: Orphanage Animation Studios / Cartoon Network Studios
“Back to things like Dexter’s lab, that’s a stretch I think.” Tartakovsky tells Polygon. “Dexter’s voice died, and half the soul of that show was her, so that would be hard to go back to. And then with Samurai Jack, we were able to finish that. For Titan, we planned a third season, and then they canceled it. And it drives you crazy because it’s done… but it’s not really done, is it? So yeah, some things like that, I’d like to go back and finish it.
A resurgence of Sym-Bionic Titan may sound like an uphill battle, at least looking in from the outside, but never bet against Tartakovsky. After all, we’re talking about a director who came back to produce one final season of it Samurai Jack more than a decade after the award-winning action-adventure series was unexpectedly canceled. Of Unicorn: Eternal Warriorsa series more than 20 years removed from its inception and finally reaching audiences this week, there may still be hope for the long-awaited return of Tartakovsky’s young adult mecha drama.