Warrior Cats Animated Series Debuts First Footage and Rusty Character Model in Shenzhen

Director's Passionate Address to the Fandom

Director Rodrigo Blaas, an Emmy-winning animator whose credits include Pixar films like Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and WALL-E, as well as Star Wars: Visions, spoke directly to the long-time fan community. He acknowledged the years of fan-made content that preceded the official adaptation:

"This is the first time these books are officially becoming an animated series. We know we are not the first people who tried to bring this world to animated life. We are just the first ones who get to do it at this scale, and we do not take that lightly."

Blaas also referenced the beautiful fan artwork the community has shared for decades, stating that the production team has watched a lot of it .

Creative Team and Studios Confirmed

The event confirmed the previously announced creative team delivering the series:

• Showrunner: A.C. Bradley, the Emmy-winning writer and producer best known as the head writer of Marvel's What If...? and for her work on Ms. Marvel and DreamWorks' Trollhunters .
• Director: Rodrigo Blaas, directing through his Madrid-based studio, El Guiri Studios .
• Lead Animation Studio: Original Force, a global leader in CG and game content creation whose credits include God of War (2018), Black Myth: Wukong, and NeZha 2, is producing the series on behalf of Tencent Video .

Zhou Wang, head of Randong Studio Group and vice president of content production at Tencent Video, appeared alongside Blaas to offer behind-the-scenes context on how the adaptation came together creatively .

Source Material and Global Reach

The animated series is adapting the very first story arc of the franchise, Warrior Cats: The Prophecies Begin . The books, published under the collective pen name Erin Hunter, have sold over 90 million copies worldwide and been translated into 38 languages, making the adaptation a major event for a massive global fanbase .

Premiere Window and Platforms

The series is scheduled to debut in 2028. It will first premiere on Tencent Video's platforms across China and Southeast Asia . A separate international distribution deal will bring the series to Disney+ and Disney Channel .

A Milestone for the Franchise

This project marks the first time the Warrior Cats books have received an official screen adaptation, following a development agreement between Coolabi Group (which created the franchise) and Tencent Video . The production involves collaborative animation teams from China, the U.S., and the U.K. , with the Shenzhen event serving as the first concrete public proof of progress for a project that fans have waited more than 20 years to see.