I somehow missed the fact that Sega’s classic hack-and-slash fantasy game Golden Axe was being turned into an animated series, but here we are. Nearly four decades after Ax Battler, Tyris Flare and Gilius Thunderhead first hacked their way through arcades, the trio is returning for a new adventure on Paramount+.

When I was a kid, sometimes we’d go to the video game arcade and there were only a few games I was excited to play. Probably my two favorites were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Golden Axe (and Mortal Kombat though I wasn’t supposed to play that one).

In any case, this one snuck up on me. Paramount’s new animated Golden Axe series is from Star Trek: Lower Decks co-creator Mike McMahan and stars Matthew Rhys, Danny Pudi, Lisa Gilroy and Liam McIntyre. Rhys is fresh off a record-setting double win at the 2026 Emmys for his roles in The Beast In Me and Widow’s Bay , and now you can hear his take on grouchy battle dwarf, Gilius Thunderhead.

Who’s In The Golden Axe Cast?

This is a surprisingly strong cast:

  • Matthew Rhys — Gilius Thunderhead
  • Danny Pudi — Hampton Squib
  • Lisa Gilroy — Tyris Flare
  • Liam McIntyre — Ax Battler
  • Carl Tart — Chronos “Evil” Lait

The retro arcade action-RPG’s villain Death Adder is back and Ax, Tyris and Gilius have to reunite, and they’re saddled with Danny Pudi’s Hampton Squib, a new wannabe adventurer who is spectacularly unqualified for the job. The 1989 video game adaptation is rated TV-14, making it an adult-ish animated action-comedy/self-parody of sword-and-sorcery. Sega calls it a “humorous homage” to the video game, which sounds perfect.

There isn’t a Rotten Tomatoes score for the series yet but I’m really excited about this show so I’ll be tuning in and reporting back with my impressions and review here on this blog and on my YouTube channel , so be sure to subscribe! Are you looking forward to Golden Axe? Let me know on Twitter , Instagram , or Facebook .