Crunchyroll Partners with Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures to Develop Sci-Fi Animated Thriller “Dantai” (Working Title) as Global Anime Brand Crosses Four Million Subscribers
What You Need to Know:
- Crunchyroll, the world’s most popular anime brand, is announcing a deal today with Idris and Sabrina Elba, in conjunction with Idris’ Green Door Pictures and Sabrina’s Pink Towel Pictures, to develop “Dantai” (working title), a dark fantasy animated series for Crunchyroll’s global anime audience of more than 100 million registered users. Idris and Sabrina Elba will serve as executive producers.
- Crunchyroll also announced that the global brand has surpassed the four million subscriber milestone in January, just six months after breaking the three million subscriber mark.
- Currently in development, the Afro-futuristic science fiction series will be set in a city where the rise of biotechnology has created an ever-widening gap between the haves and have-nots. Two rising stars from either side of this divide are pitted against each other in a story that will ultimately explore equality and kinship within a corrupt society.
- This project would complement Crunchyroll’s robust library of more than 1,000 titles and 30,000 episodes, available to fans in more than 200 countries and territories. Crunchyroll currently has more than 100 million registered users, four million subscribers, and more than 50 million followers across social media.
“For more than a decade, through anime and anime-inspired Originals, Crunchyroll has been leading the charge for the popularization of adult dramatic animation and we are fast becoming the epicenter for the next generation of animation fans, as is evidenced by our incredible growth in registered users and subscribers. Gens Y and Z have experienced superhero fatigue and are hungry for the new stories and ideas that our creators tell. This development deal with Sabrina and Idris Elba is another example of how we’re working with best-in-class partners to bring in new audiences and tell fresh and compelling stories through a medium that transcends genres and generations.”
Joanne Waage, General Manager, Crunchyroll
“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Idris and Sabrina to develop this anime-inspired sc-fi epic. “It is a privilege to work with such talented, creative partners and we look forward to bringing this exciting project to life.”
Sarah Victor, Head of Development, Crunchyroll
“We’re really excited to be announcing this deal on our first anime. We’re both fans of the genre and see a huge opportunity to create something unique for a powerhouse like Crunchyroll. The story of ‘Dantai’ is our first collaboration as producers together and is one that is close to our hearts.”
Idris & Sabrina Elba
Source: Official Press Release
About Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll, a WarnerMedia company and the world’s most popular anime brand, connects anime and manga fans across 200+ countries and territories with 360-degree experiences.
Fans have access to the largest collection of licensed anime through Crunchyroll, Anime Digital Network (in partnership with Citel, a subsidiary of Média-Participations), and Anime on Demand video streaming services, translated in multiple languages for viewers worldwide. Viewers can also access simulcasts — top series available immediately after Japanese broadcast. Crunchyroll's services also extend to licensing of theatrical, TV, home video, consumer product, and video game rights.
Fans engage further with events (including owned events Crunchyroll Expo, Anime Awards, Crunchyroll Movie Nights, KAZÉ Movie Nights), consumer products through eCommerce and retail partners (Crunchyroll, KAZÉ, AV Visionen), Crunchyroll Games, KAZÉ Games, and manga (KAZÉ Manga, Crunchyroll Manga app, Crunchyroll Manga Store).
Crunchyroll was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, Lausanne, Chisinau, and Berlin (AV Visionen). VRV (U.S.) and Eye See Movies (Germany) are also Crunchyroll brands.
About Green Door Pictures
Idris Elba founded Green Door Pictures in 2013 with the mission of developing new and established talent to champion inclusion, representation and diversity.
Scripted television credits include the award winning Sky One comedy ‘In The Long Run’, created by and featuring Idris Elba as part of an ensemble cast including Bill Bailey, in co-production with Sprout Pictures. Also Netflix comedy series ‘Turn Up Charlie’, a co-production with Brown Eyed Boy, co-created and starring Idris Elba with the title track ‘Luv’ co-created by him also.
Other credits include: ‘The Idris Takeover” and ‘5x5’ short-form series for BBC3 in collaboration with BBC Studios; ‘Tree’, a theatre production with Manchester International Festival and the Young Vic; Quibi’s first UK commission ‘Elba vs Block’ ( a non-scripted co-production with Worker Bee), and the upcoming feature film ‘Concrete Cowboy’ in collaboration with Neighborhood Film Co., Tucker Tooley Entertainment and Lee Daniels Entertainment due for release on Netflix in 2021.
