Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Conan the Barbarian’ Is Finally Happening at Prime Video and the First Look Is Everything
Few animated properties feel as perfectly matched to a creator’s sensibility as ‘Conan the Barbarian’ does to Genndy Tartakovsky. The man behind ‘Samurai Jack,’ ‘Primal,’ and the original ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ micro-series has spent his career crafting stories about lone warriors, survival against impossible odds, and the kind of mythic, muscle-bound heroism that pulp fiction was born to celebrate. So when news broke that he was finally bringing Robert E. Howard’s legendary Cimmerian to animation, the reaction from fans was swift and enthusiastic.
The announcement came during Prime Video’s Studio Focus presentation at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it was revealed that Tartakovsky and Cartoon Network Studios are developing a new animated ‘Conan the Barbarian’ series for the streamer. The festival has become a reliable ground for major animation announcements, and this one landed among the biggest of the event.
What makes this reveal particularly satisfying is just how long it has been in the making. Tartakovsky first pitched an animated version of the character back in 2008, and various networks and streamers expressed interest over the years before it finally found a firm home with Prime Video. Nearly two decades of persistence have led to this moment, and the passion project energy is already palpable. In a video message shared with Annecy attendees, Tartakovsky expressed how deeply connected he feels to Howard’s work and joked that he hopes to share some animatics in 2027 and rough animation in 2028.
The official logline gives the series a clear emotional and mythological spine. According to Amazon, after finding love in the pirate queen Bêlit, a battle-hardened Conan will defy gods, fate, and even death to save her from a dark sorcery that threatens to destroy everything. That premise, with its themes of doomed love and supernatural vengeance, sounds far closer to the original Robert E. Howard short stories than any previous screen adaptation has managed. Tartakovsky will serve as executive producer and showrunner, with Darrick Bachman, Fred Malmberg, and Mark Wheeler also executive producing.
This marks the first time Tartakovsky has committed to a licensed property since his celebrated work on ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ for Lucasfilm back in 2003. That series remains one of the most beloved animated projects in the Star Wars universe, remembered for transforming Jedi into genuinely godlike figures moving through battle with weight and consequence. His most recent series, the prehistoric adult action series ‘Primal,’ carries plenty of Conan-esque traits, particularly in its ultra-macho, nearly wordless protagonist battling a savage world with nothing but instinct and ferocity.
Previous animated versions of Conan, including ‘Conan the Adventurer,’ which ran for 65 episodes between 1992 and 1993, were very much Saturday morning fantasy cartoons in the vein of He-Man, while Tartakovsky is known for serialized, narrative-driven adventures that could bring the character’s story back closer to its roots in the pages of Weird Tales. The tonal distance between those earlier efforts and what Tartakovsky is likely to deliver is enormous, and that contrast alone has the animation community buzzing.
Patience will be required. The series has just entered development, and Tartakovsky himself has indicated that first footage could be anywhere from one to two years away from being shown publicly. But with a first look poster already revealing a strikingly angular, battle-scarred Conan rendered in Tartakovsky’s signature bold visual style, there is already plenty to get excited about. If this turns out to be the definitive animated take on the Cimmerian warrior, the long wait will have been more than worth it. What kind of story do you most want Tartakovsky’s ‘Conan’ to tell first?
