Unstuck this thread seeing as it seems the new series is now in development hell. If some new news eventually surfaces it will probably be a good idea to start a brand new thread.
Chris here…
Agreed - although I would emphasise that this is just my speculation, my own personal theory is that WB were seriously kicking around the idea of a new TCats series using the rock band idea (as supported by LeSean’s concept artwork that was posted up a while back), but abandoned this for whatever reason, thus setting back the arrival of a new series. I wonder whether seeing such universally negative fan reactions to the rock band concept is one reason why WB may have (temporarily?) abandoned the idea? 
Take care…
Chris, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that’s exactly what WB did. But it’s largely their fault because they obviously didn’t bother to research the T-Cat fandom well enough to come up with something that everybody could agree on. So, here’s hoping that it finally sinks in to where they take a wiser approach to reviving the ThunderCats. Both the old fandom and the future new fans deserve it.
I agree with Chris and Catspat. Old and new fans alike will thank WB for doing it right in the long run.
Doing something right is always the better course of action. It reminds me of when I was writing an article. I had to choose whether I would take the route of the more well known but un-accurate timeline of the Gameboy, or if I would take the correct and unknown timeline. My editor told me that my timeline was flawed, and I told him that it was correct, and I showed him proof. WB, I hope, goes with the right approach. My point being that although it may require more work on their part, and some tough decisions, it’s well worth the effort. Anything has potential, but it’s up to the creators and the fandom how succesful it will be. Thundercats is a rich series with an extremely diverse and very big fan-base. Hell, if the fan base can get a fifteen year old, who started watching T-cats well before he was ten, who knows what else they could accomplish. It’s a series where it could use some expanding, but it has to be done carefully and correctly. They can’t possibly make a Thundercats rock band, because if they did market it, the show would crash instantly. Although I bet they were seriously thinking of the idea. I sincerely hope that Thundercats does NOT end up being a band. Snarf and drums DON’T go together. And neither do Lion-o and Guitars.
It’s good that Warner Bros. is taking their time with this one. The last thing we need is a bunch of angry ThunderCat fans storming Warner Bros. Studios for a poorly conceived idea that would make the heads of Arthur Rankin Jr, Jules Bass and the creator of the ThunderCats spin.
Seriously though, I’m glad that they scrapped the idea of them being a rock band and having human forms because that to me sounds like a Sci-Fi take of Josie and the *****cats.
[edit:] Wow…I wasn’t expecting to have one of my words censored.
I was 31 when I first started watching the ThunderCats, not exactly a teenager. I’m now in my early fifties and had been away from the show for over a decade, but when I discovered that the fandom for these characters wasn’t dead like I thought it had been, you might say I returned to the fold at 53. A good decision, one that’s given me no cause for regret.:cheetaraveryhappy:
Unlike some fans, I’m not at all unhappy that Warners has put the revival of “ThunderCats” on hold; they’ll have to think long and hard about how they want to bring it back to life. If the show is based on a bad concept - like the rock band idea or the little kid Leon who’s really Lion-O - it’ll crash and burn so fast that heads will swim (not to mention roll at the animation division of Warner Brothers). But in no possible way can the cartoon come back exactly as it was in the 1980s, I’m not kidding myself about that either. The present-day state of animation and the increased sophistication of today’s audiences demand that the concept be updated on a number of levels, but it cannot divorce itself from the legacy of the old series and change into something so radically different that nobody will recognize it as the ThunderCats and/or want to watch it. The best way a new ThunderCat series can be introduced to a new generation is along the lines of being “the same and yet different”: the characters’ personalities and physical appearance remain basically the same, but they go through changes while being true to themselves (Lion-O is now Lord of New Thundera, WilyKat and WilyKit grow up, Tygra is now New Thundera’s chief scientist/architect, Panthro heads and trains the Thunderian Royal Guard, etc). The show can have a continuing storyline (a la X-Men: Evolution) with new themes, old friends and old enemies can come visiting, new characters can be introduced, new adventures can be experienced, and new technologies mirroring today’s scientific advances can be incorporated (the two Cats’ Lairs and the Tower of Omens get remodeled, T-Cat vehicles and weapons are updated as well as their outfits, and New Thundera gets its own computers, satellites, a GPS system, electronics, etc.). These are all ideas that must be taken into consideration with the past in mind if a new ThunderCats series is to hit the ground running, as Warner Brothers would want it to do.:bengali:
Very good points. I agree. They should make new and yet not new at the same time. It’s a good way to introduce new fans to it, yet still keep the existing ones tied to it.
Yay verily! I also agree with you all. Again, you have no idea how glad I am they scrapped the idea of the ThunderCats being in a rock band. …It’s just plain wrong and would upset fans of the original series.
[LEFT]http://www.thundercatslair.org/news/images/mummra_sketch_1thumb.jpg
[/LEFT]
Posted on the front page:
http://www.thundercatslair.org/index.html
LeSean posted more artwork on his DeviantArt webpage and he posted more concept art of Panthro and Cheetara…as humans. 
He also showed off a drawing of Mumm-Ra…but notes that this isn’t the Mumm-Ra that would have been in the new cartoon. He doodled the drawing above to get himself started on the new designs.
I must say, LeSean would have done an amazing job if he could have stuck to the original series. That Mumm-Ra looks fantastic!
“Human” ThunderCats?
Er, I don’t think so. Mr. LeSean is good, I’ll give him that. And, yeah, his version of Mumm-Ra is superb. But the Cats should stay cats, or partly so. It’s how they were originally designed in the first place.:bengali:
Umm…that’s what I said? Original series = original designs.
Sometimes I think we are too glued to the past. Things can’t improve if it doesn’t change. Can you imagine if technology never changed or if automobiles didn’t evolve?
No one will ever take away the original series from us and that is something I will always cherish. But things need to change in order to stay fresh. We might not like it, but the WB has to take a chance on the franchise if it is going to survive. I applaud them for wanting to re-imagine the franchise, both in television and film form. The ThunderCats needs a current form that will be suitable to both old fans and new fans…but that doesn’t mean they should stick with the original designs nor does it mean they should make them teenagers (worst.idea.ever).
The fact that we’ve seen two different concept designs, and now reports of a CGI film in the works is a great sign that our favorite series isn’t going away anytime soon.
I want something fresh, something new…
Yes, the Cats need to change, but just a bit. Like I said in a previous post, the same and yet different. I can’t put it any more clearly than that.:bengali:
Definitely, however it’s now defunct. The idea of them in a rock band is a turnoff to fans everywhere. Let’s just hope that Warner Bros (provided they didn’t scrap the whole thing) stick to the original formula.
I’m not going to change your mind, but again, I use the analogy of automobiles…if automobiles changed a little bit…would we have hybrid vehicles today? If Transformers changed only a little bit, would it have been able to become an iconic cartoon for the past 20 years? Even G.I. Joe has gone through tremendous change.
Everything evolves, otherwise it becomes stagnant.
I 100% agree. Even to the extent that it would be a turn off to most youngsters as well. In all honesty the rock band element would likely only appeal to girls. Boys like action and adventure. Girls like to sing and dress up
YAY Verily! you sir are my hero! (shakes BlackieCats’ hand)