Back in May of last year we heard that BOOM! Studios and Netflix were teaming up for an animated series based on Mech Cadets. Now the studio, along with partners Polygon pictures, Inc. have announced the star studded cast for the upcoming 3D animated series, streaming globally on Netflix August 10, 2023.
Adapted from the bestselling BOOM! Studios comic series Mech Cadet Yu by acclaimed AAPI creators Greg Pak (World War Hulk) and Takeshi Miyazawa (Runaways), the series is set fifty years in the future, after a terrifying alien species attacked our planet, and follows teenager Stanford Yu who works as a janitor at the Sky Corps Military Academy. But he’s only dreamed of one thing his entire life — to pilot a Robo Mech, giant robots from outer-space who came to our aid. When he finally gets his shot, Stanford and his classmates must put aside all personal differences and work together as a team in order to defend humanity against a new alien invasion.
The ten-episode series hails from Japanese Animation studio Polygon Pictures Inc., whose credits include Star Wars: Resistance, Apple TV+’s Emmy Award-winning Stillwater, and Love, Death, + Robots for Netflix. The first episode of the series is an official selection of 2023’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival in the TV Films Competition category.
Brandon Soo Hoo (Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series) stars as Stanford Yu, a scrappy teenage underdog working as a janitor at Sky Corps who dreams of being a Robo Pilot.
Daniel Dae Kim (Lost, Raya and the Last Dragon) plays General Aiden Park, the battle-hardened leader of Sky Corps Academy and the Mech Cadet program. As a father of one of the cadets and a General he expects nothing short of perfection from his daughter and his soldiers.
Ming-Na Wen (The Mandalorian, Mulan) plays Dolly Yu, Stanford’s loving, if a bit overprotective, mother and the calm head of the janitorial team at Sky Corps.
Debra Wilson (MADtv, Family Guy) plays Chief Max, a former Robo pilot, head of Engineering at Sky Corps, and mentor to the trainees.
Rounding out the cast are: Aparna Brielle as Ava Patel, Victoria Grace as Olivia Park, Josh Sundquist as Frank Olivetti, Anairis Quinones as Maya Sanchez, and James Yaegashi as Captain Tanaka.
Aaron Lam (Ash Vs. The Evil Dead) serves as head writer and executive producer for the series. Tohru Patrick Awa (Super Mario Bros. Movie) is the supervising director. Mech Cadets is executive produced by Shuzo John Shiota and Jack Liang for Polygon Pictures, Inc., and Stephen Christy and Ross Richie for BOOM! Studios. BOOM!’s Mette Norkjaer is co-executive producer of the series and Polygon’s Bill E. Miller serves as producer.
Print copies of Mech Cadet Yu Volumes 1-3 are available at local comic book shops and bookstores worldwide. Digital copies can be purchased from all major content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.
