Zoe Saldana has starred in some of the biggest, most successful films in history. Next up, she’ll try to make more history by teaming up with the hugely successful anime brand Crunchyroll to create a franchise of her own.
It’s called Dark Star Squadron and a provided press release describes it as “an epic animated space opera.” It follows four cadets at a space academy who steal a starship for a joy ride and return to find that their school has been destroyed and fellow students are missing. They must then go on an adventure to find out what happened. Saldana will produce as part of her company, Cinestar Pictures, which she co-founded with her sisters Cisely and Mariel. They’ll also produce and have hired Voltron: Legendary Defender writer Todd Ludy to write the script.
“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,” Zoe, Cisely, and Mariel Saldana said in a statement. “We can’t wait for everyone to meet the crew and follow the journey of our unlikely heroes.” The news comes off the milestone that Crunchyroll has crossed five million subscribers and 120 million registered users. “The tremendous growth of our streaming service is indicative of the growing love for anime and its deserved spotlight in popular culture,” Joanne Waage, general manager of Crunchyroll, said. “Zoe and her team are bringing their own anime fandom to their storytelling and we’re excited to be a part of it.”
There’s no word yet whether Zoe Saldana will provide a voice or contribute in any way beyond just as a producer, but obviously her name holds a lot of sway when it comes to epic, sci-fi action. While she’s probably best to know for playing Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films, don’t forget she’s Uhura in the modern Star Trek films, and Neytiri in Avatar, which has not one, but four sequels allegedly coming out in the next few years. That’s a lot of star power which is now being used in even better ways. As per the description of her company, Salanda, along with her sisters, are “committed to honest portrayals of women and accurate representation of the America we live in.”
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