Activision Moves into TV and Movies with Call of Duty and Skylanders

Activision has announced plans to establish a new production studio to develop TV shows and movies based on its video game IPs, Kotaku reports.

The first project will be an animated cartoon series based on the massively successful Skylanders franchise, with Jonathan Banks (Mike in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) among the talent they've signed up for the project. 

A statement from the company reads: 

"Activision Blizzard Studios’ first production will be “Skylanders Academy,” an animated TV series based on the award-winning Skylanders game. Currently in production under the supervision of showrunner Eric Rogers (“Futurama”), “Skylanders Academy” will feature the voices of Justin Long (“Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Ask Me Anything”) as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale (“Phineas and Ferb,” “High School Musical”) as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks (“Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul”) as Eruptor, and Norm Macdonald (“Saturday Night Live”) as Glumshanks. Additional voice talent includes Harland Williams and Richard Horvitz."

Activision adds that they "envision" creating feature films and TV shows based on the Call of Duty series. Other Activision IPs include Destiny, Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo. 

A movie based on World of Warcraft, simply titled Warcraft, launches next year from Legendary Pictures and director Duncan Jones.