Adult Swim Orders Movies For 'The Venture Bros.', 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force', And 'Metalocalypse'
Adult Swim is bringing back three of their beloved animated series as TV movies. The Venture Bros., which was recently brought to an end after kicking around for 17 years and 7 seasons, is getting a movie to keep the show alive. Joining The Venture Bros. will be TV movies for Adult Swim favorites Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Metalocalypse.
The Hollywood Reporter has news on Adult Swim ordering movies for The Venture Bros., Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Metalocalpyse. However, rather than debuting on Adult Swim, the movies will first be released on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD for 90 days. Then they'll all premiere on HBO Max and Adult Swim at a later date. That's a surprising move, since you would think that these TV movies might boost subscriber numbers for HBO Max, but Adult Swim probably wants to rake in some revenue before it's available to subscribers at no extra cost.
Here's the official synopsis for The Venture Bros. movie:
Doc's latest invention will either bankrupt the Ventures or launch them to new heights, as Hank searches for himself, Dean searches for Hank, The Monarch searches for answers, and a mysterious woman from their pasts threatens to bring their entire world crashing down on them
Series creators, writers and executive producers Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer were in the middle of writing the show's eighth season when the cancelation news arrived. Have they adapted the storyline for season 8 into a movie or is this something completely different? We'll probably find out as the eventual release of the movie gets closer.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force was canceled back in 2015, so the return of the fast food franchise is rather surprising. The madcap team of crime fighters known as Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake previously got their own big screen feature film at the height of the show's popularity, but this will be their first TV movie. Here's the synopsis:
A continuation of the hit animated series, fans will find out what happens next with Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake, who consider themselves crime fighters, but the truth is they never fight crime.
Since there's not really much of a cohesive continuing narrative with Aqua Teen Hunger Force, creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis can pretty much do whatever they want with the story. There's not much continuity or an overarching narrative, so this will likely just be an isolated Aqua Teen adventure with the usual insanity.
Finally, Metalocalypse came to an end in 2015 too, but series co-creator Brendon Small wasn't done with the show. He tried to get Adult Swim to let him end the show with Metalocalypse: The Army of the Doomstar – The Final Chapter, but they declined. Even after financial backers stepped forward to fund a finale after a passionate fan campaign, Adult Swim didn't budge. Will those plans for a finale be use for this movie? Here's the synopsis:
The power-hungry TRIBUNAL unveils their secret and deadly "Falconback Project" as the world grows in embattled chaos and the menacing Doomstar breaches the Earth's atmosphere while the mysterious and twisted dissent of a band member threatens the future of Dethklok. Picking up directly after the heroic rescue of Toki Wartooth: Can Dethklok choose between their egos and the greater good of the world to embark on a gauntlet of dangers that will try their very souls and finally write the song that will be their salvation?
That sounds like it could easily fall under the title that Brendon Small imagined, but we're not sure if that's what the TV movie will end up being called. We're just glad Small and Tommy Blancha are back to make this movie happen.
This is certainly a surprising announcement from Adult Swim, and it makes us wonder if this could be a new trend that the cable network carries out with some of their other fan favorite properties. It will likely depend on how this trio of movies shakes out.