Marvel's President of Animation Eric Rollman Talks about What's Next!

I'm a huge fan of Marvel Animation and the products they create for the fans. I've enjoyed all of the animated movies that they've made Planet Hulk and Dr. Strange being two of my favorites. It's like the movies just get better and better. So what is in store for Marvel Animation's future? President of Animation Eric Rollman recently talked to C1 Media about what Marvel Animation has in store for us for the small screen. 

Marvel is very bullish on animation and has fully funded its third 52-episode series. In the past, we never did that and the great thing about being part of the Disney family is that the company is made up of animators. They respect it and understand that it's animation that drives consumer products, and so our strategic business is the same.

That's all fine a dandy, but what can we expect to see from them?

We have a primetime series called Marvel Knights, which deals with more adult themes. The tagline reads, 'Move over kids, daddy's watching Marvel.'

I like it! I like it a lot! I can't wait to actually tell my kids that. "Hey kids could you please keep it down, daddy's watching cartoons." C21 media also reports that Marvel is expected to roll out new adaptations of The Hulk, Iron Man and Spider-Man, as well as lesser-known characters such as Black Panther, Nighthawk and Tigra. They are also looking at working with Japan's Madhouse Studios (Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter) on some of their upcoming projects. 

Madhouse has said that it is willing to work with us and interpret the characters into animé. We've really let Madhouse run free with it, as long as it respects the integrity of the characters. It's going to reach very broadly and tie in with lots of pieces of the culture there.

The series' that they're working on will be released in Japan this year and across the rest of the world in 2011. At last years Comic-Con Marvel released some footage from anime versions of Iron Man and Wolverine, which you can watch here. We've also been hearing a lot about The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

There's still no word on if we will get to see any more straight to DVD animated movies. I hope so! DC Entertainment holds the market down on that, but I'm not a big fan of their work. Marvel had better quality films showing fans different kinds of styles. DC's only got one... the style of Bruce Timm. I guess they are sticking with what works for them.