The live-action ThunderCats got a new draft this year, and Adam Wingard says it lives
Adam Wingard says the project remains alive — it’s simply been pushed back while other projects took precedence.
If there’s one thing that’s defined the modern movie industry, it’s the endless cycle of old favourites being polished off for a shiny new update. Case in point: ThunderCats, that mid-‘80s cartoon involving musclebound, feline-like aliens saving the day. Five years back, Warner Bros. and director Adam Wingard (he’s the bloke behind Onslaught and Godzilla vs. Kong) loudly declared they’d be bringing it back to life, live-action style. Then… radio silence. Well, we’ve finally heard a peep, and it’s just enough to keep the true believers from giving up entirely.
ThunderCats is "still kicking around," Wingard said to Polygon. "I think it's just a matter of finding time to really re-concentrate and re-engage with it. We did a new draft at the beginning of this year... but it's not dead. It lives. It's just not the number one [thing] I'm working on."
Another Draft, Still Waiting
Let’s cut through the haze: ThunderCats hasn’t been scrapped. In fact, a brand new script draft was finished earlier this year. That’s the shiny bit. The less exciting news is that Wingard’s got it on the back burner, what with other shiny things drawing his attention — namely his ultraviolent thriller Onslaught, which is out next week and apparently already raking in the critics’ applause. So ThunderCats isn’t exactly top of the to-do list, but it’s not gathering dust, either.
A new script draft was completed for ThunderCats in early 2026.
The long-delayed project still has Simon Barrett — Wingard’s Onslaught writing partner — firmly in the mix. The two are apparently keen to do it justice, with Wingard having called the movie a "dream project" when first announcing it to Deadline in 2021. Back then, he was rhapsodising about making it a wild "sci-fi spectacle" that mixes the style of the original cartoon with modern visual effects. Basically, not a lazy nostalgia cash-in, but something a bit bonkers and unexpected. Good luck to him, honestly.
Believe It When You See It
If you were hoping for a sneak peek, a release date, or even a whisper about casting, don’t hold your breath. There’s nothing for fans to do but wait and hope the result lands closer to Arcane than, say, that interminable Stranger Things gap. Still, Wingard genuinely seems passionate rather than just ticking a box for the studio, so that’s worth something. For now, the cats are back, but still firmly in hibernation.