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Skybound and Hasbro are teaming up to take two of the most iconic toy-to-screen brands into darker territory. Energon Universe — an adult animated series based on Robert Kirkman’s comic line — will fuse G.I. Joe, Transformers and the new Void Rivals world into a single shared universe for television, aiming at a mature audience rather than the family-friendly tone most associate with Hasbro properties.
What the project is
According to industry reports, Skybound Entertainment (led by Robert Kirkman) and Hasbro Entertainment are developing Energon Universe as a serialized adult animation. Joe Henderson — known for creating Lucifer and for his television work on White Collar and Almost Human — is attached as writer and showrunner. The plan is to shop the series to streaming platforms, where the appetite for bold, serialized adult animation is at an all-time high.
Kirkman’s comic initiative launched in mid‑2023 with Void Rivals and quickly expanded into standalone Transformers issues and a sequence of G.I. Joe miniseries. By November 2024, a flagship G.I. Joe title joined the roster alongside new Transformers and Void Rivals volumes, and the line has reportedly sold more than seven million comic copies worldwide in a remarkably short time. These comics laid the groundwork for a shared continuity that the animated series will adapt and expand.
Why the mature tone?
Skybound’s Invincible is the clearest precedent. The Amazon Prime hit — also adapted from a Kirkman comic — proved there is a hungry audience for violent, emotionally resonant animated stories aimed at adults. Energon Universe is expected to follow a similar tonal path: familiar franchises reshaped with complex characters, moral ambiguity, and more graphic stakes. That doesn’t mean Transformers and G.I. Joe will lose their core identities; rather, expect a recalibrated, genre-savvy take that leans into the mythic and the brutal.
Fans should note a few narrative hooks already seeded in the comics: Void Rivals’ cliffhanger reveal that introduced Jetfire (a surprise from Transformers lore), standalone Transformers arcs, and a series of G.I. Joe mini‑stories that explore origins and espionage. The comics’ mix of military sci‑fi, political intrigue and alien tech creates fertile ground for a long-form TV adaptation.
Beyond creative talent, the series matters because of timing and strategy. Hasbro Entertainment is aggressively expanding its screen slate — from Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering to Power Rangers and My Little Pony — and Energon Universe slots neatly into a broader attempt to turn established toy IP into prestige streaming content. For platforms and producers, adult animation offers lower production costs than live-action tentpoles while still delivering high engagement and franchise potential.
Critically, the move is both a commercial gamble and a creative opportunity. Reimagining childhood brands for adults risks alienating nostalgic fans, but it also opens new demographic windows and allows writers to probe darker themes that the comic source material already flirts with.
"Energon Universe is a smart evolution of transmedia storytelling," says film critic Anna Kovacs. "By trusting adult audiences with moral complexity and high-stakes emotional drama, the series could redefine how toy-based franchises expand beyond merchandise and into serious serialized storytelling."
Expect Skybound’s experienced production DNA — the studio behind The Walking Dead and Invincible — to steer the project toward character-first arcs, serialized cliffhangers and a cinematic visual style. The company is also developing several other TV projects, which underscores its ambitions to be a hub for bold genre adaptations.
From a fan perspective, the comics’ brisk sales and social media buzz suggest strong initial interest. Casual viewers who loved Invincible’s mix of visceral action and serialized heart may find Energon Universe appealing as a darker, more grown-up ride through familiar icons.
Whether the series will launch on a major streamer or multiple platforms remains to be announced. But with Kirkman, Henderson, Skybound and Hasbro at the helm, Energon Universe is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched animated franchise experiments of the streaming era.
Short concluding note: energetic, risk-taking adaptations like this one are emblematic of a larger industry trend — where franchises are no longer limited to kid-friendly formats, but can be reimagined for adult audiences hungry for depth, edge, and continuity-driven drama.
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