Phil LaMarr Talks Animated Avengers, Futurama, Clone Wars

Newsarama.com has revealed in an interview with Phil LaMarr that Marvel’s The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes animated series “is already recording its second season and the first one hasn’t aired yet.”

The series was thought to be in limbo since no further news came forward after it was announced in October 2008 that the series would begin airing in 2011.

LaMarr, who will voice J.A.R.V.I.S. and Wonder Man for the new series, tells what Marvel fans can expect in terms of story and characters (and when LaMarr says “characters” he means “all of them”):

They’re basically telling the Avengers story [starting] from Avengers #1. And it’s not set in that time, put it follows the same plot points as the original.

It’s not slavishly following [the comic series], but they’re taking the broad strokes. They’re taking what is best from the story lines. But the characterizations are shifted a lot.

I would say that the tone on Avengers is mature but not dark. It’s not a kiddy show. I mean, there is peril. There is a lot of action, but I don’t think there is any effort or desire to make it gritty. These are heroes. I would say the thing that is most unique about it is, it’s more character-driven than most superhero action series. The relationships between the characters [are the focus]. You’re seeing more of that than you have, I think, in other series. I think that makes it skew a little older…but there is as much action as anybody of any age could want.

Following are all the cast members mentioned in the interview:

Rick Wasserman – Thor, Absorbing Man
Phil LaMarr – J.A.R.V.I.S., Wonder Man
Fred Tatasciore – Hulk
Wally Wingert – Ant-Man
Chris Cox – Hawkeye
Colleen O’Shaughnessey – The Wasp
Dawn Olivieri – Pepper Potts
Nolan North – Baldur

Click here to read the complete interview.

Update: 2.11.2010 — Newsarama.com has posted “part 2” of their interview with LaMarr discussing the upcoming season of Futurama and what to expect in the new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (in which LaMarr voices Bail Organa).

LaMarr says of the upcoming season 6 of Futurama, “[T]he new episodes, in my opinion, are the best yet. They’re really, really funny. Some of them are really, really thoughtful as well. The guys have come back to the show with renewed energy. The writers and producers. And they’re happy to be back, and know the world and the characters so well that they’re able to…it feels like they’re better at it. They’re able to do more with it than they were before.”

Also found a video interview with LaMarr from the October 2009 Florida Animation Supercon (via plughitzlive.com):

Related post: 1.28.2010 — Phil LaMarr Guests on Web Comedy Show