FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Attention All Skylanders! Activision Blizzard Studios Expands “Skylanders Academy” To Season 3
Netflix Renews the Critically Acclaimed Animated Series for a Third Season
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – February 2, 2017 – Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced that its Netflix original series “Skylanders™ Academy” has been renewed for a third season. Production on the third season of “Skylanders Academy”—the first television series developed and produced by Activision Blizzard Studios—will begin in February, with animation again created by the renowned TeamTO studio in France.
“Activision Blizzard Studios celebrates the opportunity to bring another season of quality programming to families around the world,” said studio Co-President Nick van Dyk. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Netflix on this iconic franchise.”
Season 3 will launch in 2018. This year, audiences can enjoy Season 2 of “Skylanders Academy,” which brings back Justin Long as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks as Eruptor and Norm Macdonald as Glumshanks.
New addition Felicia Day (The Guild, Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will join the cast in Season 2, voicing the role of Cynder, a new cadet at the Academy with a mysterious past. The Diamond Minecart (Daniel Middleton) will reprise his role as Cy and Daniel Wu returns as King Pen. Additional voice talent in Season 2 includes Susan Sarandon, Parker Posey, James Hetfield, Catherine O’Hara, Bobcat Goldthwait, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jonny Rees, Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz. The series features the exclusive song “Harmony” (Skylanders Academy Theme) produced by GRAMMY® Award winner Timbaland and performed by Timbaland fet. Dalton Diehl.
“Response to the show has been incredibly enthusiastic, and we’ve taken a lot of creative inspiration from fans’ excitement,” said studio Co-President Stacey Sher, “We have a lot of fun in store for season three and are thrilled to give audiences even more of the characters they love.”
Based on Activision Blizzard’s record-breaking $3.5 billion Skylanders® game franchise1, “Skylanders Academy” is high quality entertainment for the whole family. This Netflix original series follows the heroic adventures of Spyro, Eruptor, Stealth Elf, Jet-Vac and Pop Fizz as they travel the vast Skylands universe, protecting it from evil-doers. The award-winning Skylanders franchise, created by Toys for Bob, has sold through more than 300 million toys since pioneering the toys-to-life category in 2011(1), and late last year Activision launched Skylanders® Imaginators, the latest innovation in the franchise.
Activision Blizzard Studios launched last year to create original content based on the company's extensive library of iconic and globally-recognized intellectual properties, which includes some of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world. “Skylanders Academy” is the first production by Sher and van Dyk, who are joined by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick as the series’ executive producers.
