Marvel is a machine and even though some of the projects have been delayed because of the pandemic, they still somehow managed to put out some really great stuff over the last year. For example Black Widow, What If?, Loki and WandaVision to name a few. However they haven't stopped there as a new trailer for the animated Hit-Monkey, which will premiere on Hulu November 17th, just dropped. Now before we dive into the new animated show, let's take a look at the latest footage.
Now, unlike other Marvel shows and movies, Hit-Monkey is an adult themed show. Which is why the new series will appear on Hulu as opposed to Disney+ ( Disney also owns Hulu). The plot follows Hit-Monkey, (who is voiced by Fred Tatasciore,) a Japanese snow macaque whose tribe was slaughtered, and his journey with the ghost of an American assassin named Bryce, (voiced by Jason Sudeikis,) in seeking revenge in Tokyo's crime underworld.
Hit-Monkey made his Marvel Comics debut in 2010 in Hit-Monkey #1, an origin story one-shot. After that they brought the story in which he took on Deadpool and Spider-Man in a three-issue arc in Deadpool Issues #19-21. He got a limited series as well after that. Those three main Hit-Monkey stories are collected in the trade paperback Hit-Monkey: Bullets & Bananas. He has popped up throughout the Marvel Comics universe since then in random stories and one shots. The show is stacked as far as voice actors go.
Star Trek legend George Takei provides the voice of Shinji, an uncommonly decent and ethical politician who's campaigning to become the next Prime Minister of Japan. His niece, Akiko ("X-Men: Apocalypse" star Olivia Munn), is his most trusted political advisor. Haruka (Ally Maki) and Ito (Nobi Nakanishi) are Tokyo cops who want to root out corruption but face many, many challenges. Haruka is an idealistic rookie, while Ito is a drunken veteran with very few friends in the department. They come to realize that they might be on the same side as Monkey. And voice actor Fred Tatasciore is the voice of Monkey, who communicates in ape noises.
Hit-Monkey is co-created and executive produced by Josh Gordon & Will Speck. "He's a character who is violent and temperamental but also deeply wounded and innocent," Gordon told Entertainment Weekly about his and Speck's take on Hit-Monkey. Marvel Entertainment creative director Joe Quesada is also an executive producer.
This series was originally planned for a 2019 release as part of an animated series slate along with M.O.D.O.K., Howard the Duck} and Tigra and Dazzler, which would build to a crossover called The Offenders. Howard the Duck, Tigra and Dazzler} and the crossover were scrapped, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, since we recently saw Howard the Duck appear in Marvel's What If....? series on Disney+, there have been rumors of an animated series with our favorite foul-mouthed duck coming sometime in the future. Now with Hulu being an option for Marvel to produce and share some of it's more "adult" themed shows, we could see more of these projects that got put on the back burner come to life.