Friday, October 6th, at the Hammerstein Ballroom, youtuber of 12 years, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and “Tennessee Wonder Child” Olan Rogers alongside actor, filmmaker, and cat-faced bounty hunter Coty Galloway unveiled an explosive first look at Final Space, a new intergalactic epic cartoon making its way to TBS in early 2018.
The original pilot episode of Final Space dropped on April 5th, 2016 and quickly gained traction. This was the “proof of concept” that was pitched with Rogers himself as creator, executive producer, and the main character Gary, a jack of no trades, goofy idiot that befriends a cute little alien named Mooncake, who just so happens to be the most dangerous power source in the universe. But they aren’t alone in this big ol’ void, because it’s full to the brim with stars: Tom Kenny, Fred Armisen, Conan O’Brien, Ron Perlman, John DiMaggio, and David Tennant, who happens to be the voice of the series antagonist, the tyrannical Lord-Commander. And that’s not all- young Gary will be played by Caleb McLaughlin, best known as Lucas Sinclair from Stranger Things, from which he’s also joined on this crazy cast with our old friend Barb, Shannon Purser.
Lucky New York Comic Con attendees got an exclusive first look at Final Space; this clip was packed with tension, hilarity, and a whole lot of blaster rays. The chemistry between the Gary and his straight-man anthropomorphic feline friend Avocato was palpable as their encounter with the insidious Lord Commander played out. Unlike the original pilot, this clip gives us much more elaborate animation, a more-polished art style, a flare of real drama, and a dash of cartoon gore. It’s easy to tell that this project has been poured over in every aspect- Rogers himself apparently insisted that the series have a cinematic feel, which called for not the standard 6-7 backgrounds an episode, but 300. Yes, triple digit backgrounds with every ounce of detail they can squeeze from their army of artists (God bless them!) Moreover, the panel informed the audience that space scenes in the show are actual photos from NASA! As cliché as the play on words is, Final Space truly looks like it will be out of this world.
After the first look and panel discussion, a Q & A with Rogers and Galloway at the center of attention began, where the two were dishing out hugs, advice, and fan-service jokes to genuinely supportive and excited fans. It was a truly wholesome experience all around.
Final Space is set to be a 10 episode season, premiering in early 2018, and is described as a feature film rock opera split into ten parts. The official series trailer is now on Youtube.
