Hulu has unveiled an all-new trailer and key art for the forthcoming animated series Marvel's Hit-Monkey. Daniel Way and Dalibor Talajic created the Marvel comic of the same name in 2010. It tells the story of a clan of macaques who nurse a hitman back to health. When the hitman’s enemies return to kill him and the clan, the only surviving macaque turns hell-bent on revenge. Since first appearing in the comic, Hit-Monkey has cropped up in a three-issue story arc in Deadpool and in Old Man Logan.
Now Hit-Monkey is officially being adapted for television. The series’ synopsis reads, “After a Japanese snow monkey’s tribe is slaughtered, he joins forces with the ghost of an American assassin and together, they begin killing their way through the Yakuza underworld.” Jason Sudeikis will voice the ghostly, wry assassin Bryce, with Fred Tatasciore joining as the snow monkey. Also starring is George Takei as politician Shinji, Olivia Munn as his niece Akiko, Ally Maki as Tokyo cop Haruka, and Nobi Nakanishi as struggling officer Ito.
In advance of the upcoming series, Hulu has released a new trailer that showcases the mountain-dwelling assassin’s bloody origins, as well as accompanying artwork. As the trailer reveals, Hit-Monkey has some initial misgivings about taking on the Yakuza. “We get it,” Bryce the specter deadpans, “you’re the conflicted killer.” Soon enough, however, the monkey starts to rack up a body count — with the caveat that he’ll only kill other killers. Check out the Hit-Monkey trailer and key art below.
Click here to watch the trailer.
Hit-Monkey is co-created and executive produced by Blades of Glory partners Josh Gordon and Will Speck. Marvel exec Joe Quesada is set to executive produce. Development on Hit-Monkey was first announced in early 2019, before Marvel Studios partnered with Disney+. Marvel series were scattered across various networks, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airing on ABC and Daredevil on Netflix, but Hulu was slated to be a key Marvel partner. Though Patton Oswalt’s M.O.D.O.K series premiered in the Spring, development stopped on other Hulu-bound Marvel content, such as shows featuring Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler.
Along with Hit-Monkey, the dead-in-the-water Hulu series were intended to culminate in the Marvel crossover special The Offenders. Now Hit-Monkey will instead air as a standalone project. It’s unclear whether the lure of an Offenders crossover would have drawn more Hit-Monkey viewers, or if a standalone project will conversely bring in some Marvel agnostics. The series’ impressive voice cast will surely be a draw, especially Jason Sudeikis’ Archer-adjacent boozed-up wit. All ten episodes of Hit-Monkey premiere on November 17 on Hulu.
Source: Hulu