Godzilla Director’s ‘80s Action Reboot Officially Gets Update After 5 Year Delay
Director Adam Wingard has confirmed his long-delayed live-action ThunderCats film is still moving forward, five years after it was first announced. In a new interview promoting his upcoming film Onslaught, Wingard revealed the project remains active despite the lack of public updates, addressing fan concerns that the adaptation of the beloved 1980s animated series had quietly stalled.
The ThunderCats film was announced by Warner Bros in 2021, with Wingard directing and his regular collaborator Simon Barrett writing the script; Wingard has previously described wanting a CG-live-action hybrid that honours the show's vintage aesthetic. He told Polygon that a new script draft was completed earlier this year before being paused while he focused on Onslaught, adding "it's not dead" but is currently not his top priority. The film is one of several toy- and franchise-based projects in the pipeline, alongside Masters of the Universe and Matchbox, while a separate ThunderCats animated film is also reportedly in development.
- ThunderCats live-action film is still alive, says director Adam Wingard
- New script draft completed early 2026, then put on hold
- Project remains a lower priority than Wingard's film Onslaught
New here? Start with this
ThunderCats began as a 1980s animated series about humanoid cats from the planet Thundera, led by Lion-O. The characters and their adventures have since appeared in comics and other versions of the story, building a following among viewers who first watched the original series.
Warner Bros announced a live-action film in 2021, with Adam Wingard set to direct and Simon Barrett to write. Wingard has described his intended approach as a mix of computer-generated imagery and live action, drawing on the look of the original cartoon.
The project sits among film studios’ efforts to bring established toys and entertainment franchises to cinema. A separate animated ThunderCats film has also been reported, so there may be more than one new screen version in development.