Crunchyroll & Zoe Saldana Partner for Dark Star Squadron Development

Global anime brand Crunchyroll has signed a development deal with Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures for Dark Star Squadron.

Crunchyroll, which recently surpassed 5 million subscribers, offers an anime library of more than 1,000 titles. The newest title in development, the animated space opera Dark Star Squadron, will be written by Todd Ludy (Voltron: Legendary Defender), with Zoe Saldana, Cisely Saldana and Mariel Saldana of Cinestar Pictures executive producing.

Sonia A. Gambaro and Maytal Gilboa from Pollinate Entertainment are also producing the title, which will follow the journey of four failing cadets who go on a joyride with a stolen starship but return to find that their academy is in ruins and everyone has vanished.

“The tremendous growth of our streaming service is indicative of the growing love for anime and its deserved spotlight in popular culture,” said Joanne Waage, general manager of Crunchyroll. “Zoe and her team are bringing their own anime fandom to their storytelling, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

“As true animation and anime fans ourselves, we are so excited for the opportunity to partner with Crunchyroll to bring Dark Star Squadron to a wide audience,” said the Saldanas. “We can’t wait for everyone to meet the crew and follow the journey of our unlikely heroes.”

Sarah Victor, head of development at Crunchyroll, said, “We’re elated to be working with such a talented creative team on the development of Dark Star Squadron, a new fantasy adventure series. We love working with creators who are passionate about telling stories through anime and we can’t wait to bring this interstellar epic to fans across the galaxy.”