Digital streamer Netflix is finally delivering its take on an early Asterix story, Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight – but the limited series, long in gestation, won’t now debut until early next year, ahead of the next animated feature film, due in 2026.
First announced back in 2021, the limited series, produced under its French title, Le Combat des chefs, is directed by Alain Chabat (writer of the 2002 film adaptation, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra) and Fabrice Joubert, produced by Alain Goldman, and manufactured by Toulouse-based TAT Production.
In the story, adapted from the original work by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, first published in 1964 in French, Rome is, as ever, desperate to conquer the last independent village in Gaul and the home of Asterix and Obelix. The secret to the Gauls battle superiority is their magic potion, but when the druid, Getafix, loses his memory, the villagers are left to their own devices against the might of Rome…
Back in March 2021, Dominique Bazay, Netflix’s director of original animation said “I have been talking with Celeste Surugue at Albert Rene for years about how to bring Asterix to Netflix. We built a great relationship of trust and mutual respect around our love for these characters.
“I’m French Canadian, and like most francophones around the world, I grew up with Asterix, his sidekick Obelix and loyal companion Dogmatix. I watched the animated specials and read the books religiously. If you’d told the eight-year-old me that one day I’d help bring these characters to life… I wouldn’t have believed you!”
While the launch of the new Big Fight series may be a few months off yet, that hasn’t stopped Netflix France from having some fun inspired by the series running gag of one Gaulish village holding out against Rome to promote it.
In a promotion, we’re told “Nous sommes en MMXXIV et toute la page Netflix est occupée par les Romains… Toute? Non!” (“The entire Netflix page is occupied by the Romans… All No!”), and title tiles of several popular Netflix shows follow, all Romaised. Squid Game becomes “Quid Game”, Breaking Bad, “Breaking Barde” (with Getafix, known in French as Assurancetourix), The Crown, The Crown by Laurier, La Casa de Papel , The House of Pompeii, House of Cards, House of Marble… well, you get the idea!
Nous sommes en MMXXIV et toute la page Netflix est occupée par les Romains… Toute ? Non !@asterixofficiel pic.twitter.com/tOdbVqR8ub
— Netflix France (@NetflixFR) June 11, 2024
Asterix, Indomitable…
Popular worldwide, with 200 million books sold, the Asterix franchise has also been adapted into several animated and live-action films, including the Dogmatix and the Indomitables spin-off series, screening on YouTube.
The next big screen CG-animated feature is Asterix: The Kingdom of Nubia, launched at Cannes last month, which is expected to hit cinemas in 2026.
Produced by M6 Studio, distributed worldwide by SND Films, The Kingdom of Nubia is directed by Gobelins alum and former DreamWorks animator Alexandre Heboyan (Mune: Guardian of the Moon) and written by filmmaking duo Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière, (What’s in a Name?, The Best Is Yet to Come, and the upcoming The Count of Monte-Cristo). It will follow Asterix and his loyal companion Obelix on a journey to the Kingdom of Nubia.
Mikros Animation, through its M6 Studio, also made the Asterix features The Mansions of the Gods (2014) and The Secret of the Magic Potion (2018), two of the most popular animated features ever to be shown in French cinemas, listed in a Top Ten of audience numbers in 2020.
• Asterix books on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• Buy Asterix and the Big Fight from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
A collaborator in ancient Gaul? Chief Cassius Ceramix has gone over to the Roman enemy. There’s something very fishy going on, as Legionary Infirmofpurpus discovers when he is sent to spy on the Gauls disguised as a crab apple tree. But is that just a red herring? And what about the two concussed druids brewing colourful potions? One way or another, the fight for control of the village between Vitalstatistix and his rival is bound to be a knockout.
• Tat Productions is online at tatprod.com | Facebook | Instagram | X
• Asterix and the Big Fight on Film France
Film France, a department of the CNC (the French National Centre for Cinema), is the one-stop-shop for foreign productions and individuals preparing to film in France
• Mikros Animation | The History of Mikros (Six Videos)
• Dogmatix and the Indomitables is available on YouTube
• Asterix, the Kingdom of Nubia launches in 2026
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Animation, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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