Golden Axe is a name that will ring deeply familiar to some, and completely foreign to many others. It's the title of a classic SEGA 1989 arcade game, that saw players fight through fantasy lands against the evil villain Death Adder as three iconic characters: Ax Battler the barbarian, the battle sorceress Tyris Flare, and a feisty, battle axe-wielding dwarf named Gilius Thunderhead.
Now, nearly forty years later, Golden Axe is back in the public spotlight thanks to Paramount+'s latest animated adaptation, whose ten episodes air on September 16. The show, which has been overhauled to adopt a more light-hearted, campy vibe, sees those iconic characters, along with new faces, set off on a quest to once again stop the evil Death Adder, who refuses to stay dead.
The Direct sat down with the cast and creatives behind the new Golden Axe animated series to discuss why this new series is perfect for both new and old fans alike, and why the drastic shift to campy comedy was the perfect direction for this story.
Everyone we were able to speak with includes stars Matthew Rhys (of recent Widow's Bay fame) as Gilius Thunderhead, Liam McIntyre as Ax Battler, Carl Tart as Chronos “Evil” Lait, and Danny Pudi as Hampton Squib, and alongside producers Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler.
The New Golden Axe Series Is Perfect for New and Old Fans Alike
"What's Beautiful About It Is [That It] Straddles Both..."
- The Direct: "Why do you feel that this show is perfect for fans of the original game, but also why is it perfect for those like us who have never heard about it before?
Matthew Rhys: I mean, what's beautiful about it is [that it] straddles both. Liam [McIntyre] and I both grew up playing this game, so I think for that generation who know this game, there's going to be a ton of added wealth to it. But for any new generation who've never heard of it, just dropping in and seeing this kind of incredible, crazy, irreverent, slightly campy times fantasy, which is just hilariously funny. It's very entertaining, and at the end of the day, that's all I ever want to do. And to me, this does it with aplomb.
Liam McIntyre: It's fun that they just have a like—if you haven't seen or if you don't know what a Golden Axe is, it's a fun story with fun characters and fun fantasy romp with high action and great storytelling and good jokes, but if you do know the game like we do, there is so much they they have played all the games a lot you can see it, and it's all sort of snuck in there in different ways, which I love.
Carl Tart: I think what's what's great about that is fans of the original game can find new ways to enjoy the characters that they either grew up with or missed from their childhood, and also the people who've never seen it are introduced to these people, and because like there was there was lore, of course, but Mike and Joe were able to create new lore, and I think that's just their own take on. I think that's really cool. So I think it's easy for both sides of that coin.
Danny Pudi: I think there was room to play and expand on things that maybe weren't explored much, and I think that there are beloved characters and worlds that are celebrated, and I think that you know, for people who connected to the game, they'll love that. But I think also, like my character Hampton, is new to the world, and so there's a lot of new elements as well that we're bringing to this world that we get to kind of explore that maybe weren't explored in the game as much.
Golden Axe's Drastic Tonal Shift Was the Right Choice
From Serious to Campy Fun.
- The Direct: "When I was looking into that original game, you know, it's not something that seemed to be funny. It seemed very serious. And I'm curious, when it comes to this show, which is the opposite, why was this dramatic shift the right direction? Why did you feel like this kind of comedic, exaggerated angle was the best way to tackle this?"
Mike McMahan: Yeah, it's funny to us. I think that's a great question. To us, when this game came out, when we were young and in ancient times, when you had to put quarters into machines to play games, this game actually felt mirthful. Like, there are aspects of it, like beating up an imp to get a potion, or riding a purple chicken lizard mutant thingy, and even getting to select your character, and you get to select the battledorf instead of what you usually could play as, which was just two badass dudes.
While the original games presented themselves in a serious light, McMahan felt that "there was fun in it, and all [they] were doing was turning up the dial on that:"
McMahan: Most games were two badass dudes with guns, or two badass dudes with swords, or maybe two badass plumbers. But like, you know, to us there was fun in it, and all we were doing was turning up the dial on that, and I think like our experience to us as kids, nobody was asking for this except for us. Like, we love playing in this world. We love playing with these characters. We wanted to do this big, epic, funny quest.
Joe Chandler: There's like a Conan character in the game, and like Conan is dark, but there's also like, you play through a village and realize it's on the back of a turtle, which is like—that's silly to me. That's not dark and serious... The game already blends these tones, which felt like something that we can do, is we can blend some serious fantasy, some like real stakes adventure with comedy. So it felt like a no-brainer to us.
