Andarta Pictures adapts the famous American saga "5 Worlds"
Andarta Pictures is proud to announce its new animated series, an adaptation of the literary project "5 Worlds", for which it has acquired the rights.
Selected at the Cartoon Forum, this science-fiction saga aimed at kids and tweens is adapted from five graphic novels written by Mark and Alexis Siegel and illustrated by Boya Sun, Xanthe Bouma, and Matt Rockefeller. It is an epic blending adventure, science fiction, and coming-of-age quest, plunging readers into a dizzying universe with ecological dimensions.
About 5 Worlds
"5 Worlds" is a bestselling series, with over 500,000 copies sold and already translated into seven languages (English, French, Thai, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, Hebrew, Russian). It is published by Gallimard in France and by Penguin Random House in the United States.
The series tells the story of young heroes who must travel across different worlds to save their universe from an imminent threat. Each volume explores a unique planet with its own ancient cultures, varied geographies, and ecological challenges. The protagonists face complex themes such as cultural blending, class struggle, shared humanity, resource appropriation, and corrupt politics, offering a rich and multidimensional universe that addresses adult issues at a child’s level.
A second renowned intellectual property for Andarta Pictures
Andarta Pictures is no stranger to major adaptations. After acquiring the rights to Ewilan's Quest in 2017, a monument of French children’s literature, the studio is adapting a Franco-American intellectual property for the screen for the first time.
“Captivated by the graphic universe of 5 Worlds, I immersed myself in reading these books during the 2020 lockdown. I was amazed by the depth of the narrative and the spectacular character developments in these novels aimed at young readers. Imagine my surprise when Mark Siegel, author of 5 Worlds, contacted me shortly after to work on the animated series project! This IP is perfectly aligned with Andarta Pictures’ ambition: to offer coming-of-age stories to younger generations through fantastic universes, just like our flagship project: Ewilan's Quest. Adapting 5 Worlds was therefore a natural choice for my teams and myself.”
It is this wide range of issues treated with finesse that convinced Andarta of this collaboration. By adapting 5 Worlds, a Franco-American IP, the studio hopes to shake up conventions and call for international collaboration.
“5 Worlds is the meeting of Star Wars and Narnia, a space opera with young adults at the heart of the story. The combination of animation and the authors’ vision makes this adventure particularly exciting: it’s not about building one universe, but 5! Each with their own issues, peoples, customs... A beautiful design/destiny for our creative teams!”
A collaborative approach with the Siegel brothers and the fan community
True to its collaborative approach, the studio will include the fan community from the earliest stages of development. As with “Ewilan's Quest,” a close collaboration will be established with dedicated communication spaces on social media, allowing fans to follow and participate in real time in the project’s evolution.
For this adaptation, Andarta Pictures also has the privilege of working closely with the saga’s creators, Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel. Won over by the authenticity and dreamlike colors of the two 2D teasers produced by the studio — “Ewilan's Quest” and “Baïdir” — they contacted the studio and chose to entrust it with this adaptation, convinced by their artistic vision that aligns perfectly with the “5 Worlds” universe.
“On the 5 Worlds creative team, we are all lovers of animation in all its forms. When I showed Andarta’s trailers to my teammates, we unanimously agreed there were genuine artistic affinities between them and us. To translate our unusual aesthetic and the ambition of this story into the world of animation, we couldn’t dream of a better partner than a studio like Andarta, which so beautifully represents the French genius of animation.”
A project selected at Cartoon Forum
After keeping the secret for several months, Andarta and the project’s authors are very proud to announce their selection at the prestigious Cartoon Forum taking place in September. This recognition will be an opportunity to present the series to many animation professionals and to showcase the first-ever discovery of the five new planets on the big screen.