Fantasy and Superheroes Dominate Prime Video’s 2024 Upfronts
Prime Video announced new and returning shows for Spider-Man, Lara Croft, the Lord of the Rings, and more of The Boys at today’s upfront presentation.
As Prime Video continues to grow its roster of original programming, Amazon’s global streaming giant is doubling down on genre shows. Fantasy and comic book fans will be particularly interested in what came out of today’s Prime Video advertisers upfront presentation in New York.
It includes not just new seasons for existing shows like The Boys, but new shows that have officially been ordered to series featuring familiar franchises. We’ll look at all the announcements here.
In non-genre news: Prime ordered new series for Legally Blonde (titled Elle), renewed Mr. and Mrs. Smith for a second season, and showcased upcoming seasons of Reacher and Cross. Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell were on hand to talk about their film You’re Cordially Invited. And head Jennifer Salke brought actor Jake Gyllenhaal onto the stage to announce a sequel to the hit feature film Road House.
But let’s round-up all the news out of Amazon’s upfront for its science fiction and fantasy programming:
THE BOYS
The violent and subversive take on the superhero genre The Boys is getting ready for its fourth season, which will premiere June 13 on Prime video. Spin-off Gen V is also coming back for a second season.
Today the streamer announced that The Boys has been renewed for a fifth season.
THE RINGS OF POWER
Season 2 of The Rings of Power – a prequel to The Lord of the Rings set during the Second Age of Middle-earth – finally has a trailer and a premiere date. The 8-episode sophomore season will bow on August 29, with Prime Video streaming its marquee fantasy series globally to more than 240 countries and territories.
It will be just shy of two years since the first season premiered.
With the identity of the Dark Lord Sauron revealed at the end of Season 1, the new season will continue to chronicle his rise to power. As any fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology will tell you, Sauron deceived the residents of Middle-earth into forging the Rings of Power, intending to use the One Ring to force them all to bow to his will.
TOMB RAIDER
The streamer also gave a green light to a new Tomb Raider TV series, based on the video game franchise, in partnership with game developer Crystal Dynamics. Crystal Dynamics and Amazon Games are also collaborating on a new multiplatform, single-player, narrative-driven Tomb Raider game to extend the venerable adventure franchise.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) will write and executive produce the show, which follows the adventures of archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft.
“If I could tell my teenage self this was happening I think she’d explode,” Waller-Bridge said. “Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life and I feel incredibly privileged to be bringing it to television with such passionate collaborators. Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats ‘n all.”
SPIDER-MAN NOIR
Finally, Prime Video announced it has ordered a live-action series based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir. It will star none other than Nicolas Cage, who reprises the role he voiced for the Academy Award-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The show is being developed by Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot along with Into the Spider-Verse team members Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal, who will also serve as executive producers.
Noir will tell the story of an aging and down-on-his-luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero. Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag, Enola Holmes) will direct and executive produce the first two episodes.
The series will debut first on the MGM+ linear cable channel, and then stream worldwide on Prime Video.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Nicolas Cage starring in this series,” Sony Pictures Television Studios President Katherine Pope said. “No one else could bring such pathos, pain, and heart to this singular character. Along with our brilliant producers and partners at Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video, we couldn’t ask for a better team to explore this reimagining of such an iconic character in Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters.”
To see what else is streaming on Prime Video in science fiction and fantasy, head over to SciFi Stream’s Prime Video network page.
