John Landis will direct Arnold Schwarzenegger in Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten

Genius Brands International has announced that John Landis, legendary multi-award-winning director and producer of blockbuster hits such as Trading Places, Animal House, Blues Brothers, Three Amigos, Beverly Hills Cop 2, Coming to America, and the Honey I Shrunk The Kids TV series, will join Arnold Schwarzenegger and the production team behind Genius Brands’ new children’s animated series, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten.

Landis will direct Schwarzenegger, who lends his voice to the starring role of the action-adventure comedy series co-created by Stan Lee as one of his final projects. He also serves as co-producer, along with China’s Alibaba Group , Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, and Schwarzenegger’s Oak Productions. Co-creator of Deadpool, Fabian Nicieza has developed the series, with scripting by Steven Banks (SpongeBob SquarePants).

Here is the synopsis for the show:

Five years ago, a tremendous superhero battle blanketed the small town of Greenvale in cosmic radiation. Shortly thereafter, a previously ordinary diverse group of boys and girls, are showing the most unusual superpowers! Their superpowers, however, rather than coming from Kryptonite or a radioactive spider, come from items in their kindergarten classroom — white glue, wooden blocks, crayons, silly putty, etc.

A very special kindergarten teacher arrives in Greenvale to train these super-kids. Arnold Armstrong knows what it is like to control superpowers, because he used to be Captain Courage, the hero whose final battle helped create these superkids! Arnold will teach the kids how to become the heroes of tomorrow, once he teaches them how to tie their shoes.

Full of action, comedy and fun, the series is based on the genius and imagination of creative icon, Stan Lee, and mixes in the important lessons of health, exercise, nutrition and anti-bullying. Just as he made a cameo in all of the Marvel movies, Lee will appear in an animated cameo in each episode, with a digitized recreation of his voice.

Landis has also joined Genius Brands’ development team to help create a live-action series and feature film spin-off of Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten.

“When one has a property of this magnitude, we will quickly pursue development of a live-action feature spin-off as we work to maximize the value of the brand,” said Genius Brands Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward. “Today’s announcement reflects a core element of our strategy for Genius Brands and Kartoon Channel!–recruiting the industry’s top proven and emerging talent to ensure that we are steadily building a content offering that is second to none. We believe that this approach, in combination with our excellent distribution deals and licensing agreements, is a pathway for Genius Brands to drive strong revenue and create long-term shareholder value.”

“I am honored to work with Andy and Arnold for the first time in bringing Stan’s vision to life with this action-packed series infused with comedy and heart,” commented John Landis.

Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten will debut on Genius Brands’ recently-launched Kartoon Channel! in Q1 2021. It will also be broadcast on Amazon Prime in the U.S., and Alibaba in China on its video streaming platform for kids, Youku. Concurrently, Genius Brands is actively marketing a full-scale global consumer products retail program anchored with toys, publishing, and apparel.