10 ThunderCats Moments That Would Look Incredible In A Live-Action Movie

There’s been speculation regarding a live-action movie version of the classic ’80s cartoon series, Thundercats for a long time now. Excitement reached fever-pitch in March, when Deadline reported that Godzilla vs. Kong director, Adam Wingard, is onboard to helm the movie, and will rewrite the script with Simon Barrett. The idea is to take the concept from the awesome 1985 animated series, and turn it into a hybrid of CGI, and animation.




If the project does indeed go ahead, it could be a visually stunning experience, as the animated series not only had great characters like Lion-O, Cheetara, and Panthro, but it also featured many sequences that would look incredible in a live-action movie. The series’ fantastical location, plus its wonderful array of heroes, and villains, would look great in a movie version, and the filmmakers would be spoiled for choice when it comes to reimagining some of the most exciting sequences, and characters.


10 The Thunderians Escape Their Home Planet Thundera

“Exodus” Season 1, Episode 1

The pilot episode of Thundercats would be the perfect starting point for a live-action movie. The plot follows the Thunderians as they flee their dying homeland, Thundera. In hot pursuit are their arch enemies, the Mutants of Plun-Darr, who destroy most of the fleet, but spare the flagship as it contains the legendary mystic Sword of Omens. It’s an engaging start to the animated series, and introduces the main characters already in great peril.


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A live-action movie needs to happen, and an opening space battle, with modern visual techniques, and VFX would be a spectacular way to begin the movie. Showing Thundera being destroyed would set the film, and a potential franchise, with an engaging narrative from the beginning. It would also act as a great way to introduce the main villain, Mumm-ra, who teams up with the Mutants in their quest to destroy the Thundercats.

9 Creating The Ultimate Mumm-ra

Seasons 1-4


Mumm-ra is one of the most iconic villains from ’80s animation. He has a zombie-like appearance, and grey skin with big bright red eyes and jagged teeth. His body is covered in mummification bandages, and he wears a red cape at all times, covering his withered body. He’s the type of villain who would look great with a Thanos-type motion-capture performance.

He’s the type of villain who would look great with a Thanos-type motion-capture performance.

A fan-made trailer for the potential live-action movie was posted recently on YouTube, and it featured Willem Dafoe as Mumm-Ra, which would be a great choice. His usual form makes him seem withered and weak, but once he utters the line, “ancient spirits of evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the Ever-Living!”, he transforms into a muscular fiend. A mix of mo-cap, plus an actor with gravitas, would bring Mumm-ra to life perfectly.


8 The Warrior Maidens

“Trouble With Time” Season 1, Episode 7

The Amazonian-like Warrior Maidens would be a great addition to a live-action movie. They’re a tribe of Amazon-like women who dwell in the Treetop Kingdom in the forest of Third Earth, and are all skilled marksmen, and ace archers. Their first appearance, in Season 1 episode, “Trouble with Time”, sees them confront the Thundercats after they turn up on their land.

The Warrior Maidens joined Cheetara in Thundercats lore, and they should have had more screen time. If the live-action movie followed Season 1’s narrative, and had them forge allies with other inhabitants of Third Earth, who are initially hostile, it would set up intriguing dynamics for the plot. The Warrior Maidens are key to the events of Season 1, and would be a formidable ally to introduce in the movie.


7 “The Tower Of Traps”

Season 1, Episode 8

Two of the most prominent, and very cute, characters in the best Thundercats episodes, are WilyKit, and WilyKat, or, as they’re affectionately known to their peers, the Thunderkittens. The live-action movie will have to appeal to a younger demographic, and the eighth episode of Season 1, The Tower of Traps, has a sequence that would showcase the Thunderkittens perfectly. Great peril for the siblings would await if the movie borrows key story beats from this sequence.

Much like when Simba and Nala sneak off to the elephant graveyard in The Lion King, the Thunderkitten’s adventure at the tower of traps would act as a pivotal moment for them. In the series, WilyKat goes missing, and Lion-O, and WilyKit, must traverse a series of deadly traps to find him. The sequence had a fun Indiana Jones sense of adventure, and this would look great in a live-action Thundercats movie, especially when the gargoyles come to life towards the end.


6 “Lord Of The Snows”

Season 1, Episode 13

Fantasy shows, and movies, often use some wonderfully named devices to move the plot forward. Avatar had the ridiculously named Unobtainium, a valuable power source, and Thundercats also had its own element that was vital to how everything was fueled; Thundrillium. In “Lord of the Snows”, Lion-O travels to Hook Mountain to retrieve a meteorite that contains Thundrillium, and the snow-filled sequence would look incredible in a live-action movie.

The visuals of Hook Mountain, with the beautiful ice castle at the top, would look amazing, and Lion-O’s subsequent battle with Snowman would be a great action sequence. What’s more, in the series, Snowman attacks Lion-O while riding a giant lion, called SnowMeow, who was a fan favorite from the cartoon. Plus, Lion-O proves his worth as the Lord of the Thundercats by taking control of SnowMeow, and befriending Snowman. The sequence would be thrilling, and would make up for some of the franchise biggest mistakes.


5 Panthro Confronts His Evil Clone

“Spitting Image” Season 1, Episode 18

Lion-O may be the main protagonist in Thundercats, but the series would often shift focus to other characters in order to establish them, and give them more agency in the narratives. Panthro is one of the most headstrong members of the team, and the Season 1 episode, “Spitting Image” includes some great character development that would be vital to the movie.

The sequence where Mumm-ra creates Panthro’s evil clone would be a great addition to the live-action Thundercats reboot, as it’s one of the darker moments in the cartoon. It pushed the boundaries of what a kids’ series could get away with in the 80s, and it creates a thrilling, and suspenseful narrative. Thundercats often displayed the strengths of the various Thunderians, and Panthro’s character arc from this episode would be a great inclusion in the movie.


4 “Lion-O’s Anointment Final Day: The Trial Of Evil”

Season 1, Episode 61

One of the most visually cool locations that would look incredible in a live-action Thundercats movie, is the home of Mumm-ra, the Ever-Living; the Black Pyramid. Aside from a brief moment in “The Unholy Alliance” we only get a glimpse of the outside of the pyramid, and the inside of the chambers. Therefore, it would be a very cool moment for fans to see a fully realized version of Mumm-ra’s lair in the movie.

IMDB’s Highest Rated Episodes of Thundercats

Episode

IMDB Score

Lion-O’s Anointment Final Day: The Trial Of Evil

8.3

The Last Day

8.3

Lion-O’s Anointment Second Day: The Trial of Speed

8.2


A live-action Thundercats is just what the franchise needs, and with its visually inventive landscapes, and buildings, is rich to be mined from for the live-action movie. There’s a limit to how much the movie can include, but if it can delve into the destroyed civilization, that is hinted at creating the Black Pyramid, it would be very exciting. Plus, this episode features one of the best battles between Lion-O, and Mumm-ra, and although they have many fights, the opportunity to learn more about Mumm-ra’s backstory would enhance their rivalry.

3 “The Ghost Warrior”

Season 1, Episode 11


Jaga is the mentor and warrior master of all Thundercats. He was one of Thundera’s best fighters, and also acted as Lord of the Thundercats for a short time. He often appears to Lion-O as a ghost to offer him guidance, much like Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: A New Hope. The Season 1 episode, “The Ghost Warrior”, features a storyline that would look amazing in a live-action film, if the movie is to do justice to the cartoon.

Jaga has the opportunity to do more than just act as a wise old mentor for Lion-O, and also gets some great character development. However, it’s his fight with Grune the Destroyer, a Thunderian warrior from Jaga’s past who haunts the Thundercats, that would be a great spectacle in the movie. The episode ends with a thrilling fight between two giant ghosts in the sky, which is the perfect action sequence for the live-action reboot.

2 WilyKit & Wilykat Release Mongor

“Mongor” Season 1, Episode 19


Satanic imagery wasn’t the most common aspect of kids’ cartoons from the 80s, but the Season 1 episode, “Mongor”, features exactly that. Also, it was the series’ lovable rogues, the Thunderkittens, who unleash the devil in the episode, which would have given impressionable children nightmares back in the 1980s.

It would also be intriguing for a live-action movie to push the boundaries in terms of potential darkness and horror, that the cartoon hinted at in episodes such as “Mongor”.

WilyKit, and WilyKat are the key selling points for the movie’s younger demographic, so situations of great peril for the pair are essential. It would also be intriguing for a live-action movie to push the boundaries in terms of potential darkness and horror, that the cartoon hinted at in episodes such as “Mongor”. The design of the devil in the show was suitably macabre, and it had a Freddy Krueger-like way of feeding on your fears. The live-action movie would benefit from leaning in this darker direction.


1 Lion-O Vs Mumm-ra

“The Last Day” Season 2, Episode 45

The battle between good and evil is the most compelling part of any fantasy series or movie, and Lion-O’s battle with Mumm-ra would be one of the most thrilling aspects of a live-action movie. The stakes are raised considerably in one of the very best Thundercats episodes, “The Last Day” from Season 2. Mumm-ra’s aggressive rampage throughout the episode is genuinely terrifying, and would make for an amazing spectacle in the movie.

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Also, the weight of the entire series rested on the confrontation between Lion-O, and Mumm-ra, and “The Last Day” provided a masterclass in dramatic storytelling. The way the scene is created in the series would be the perfect storyboard for the live-action movie to gain inspiration from. It’s inevitable that the movie will feature a final fight between the two main characters in ThunderCats, and if the movie is able to stay true to the ’80s cartoon, it would be an emotional climax for the film.

Sources: Deadline