Weta Workshop bringing Thunderbirds back

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Weta bringing Thunderbirds back

3News NZ

Thunderbirds are go once again - the Kiwi team behind the visual effects on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Avatar have been hired to work on an update of the classic 1960s kids show.

New Zealand's Weta Workshop together with Pukeko Pictures will work on bringing the TV show back to life.

The new series, titled Thunderbirds Are Go!, will be a mixture of CGI animation and live-action model sets and is set to air on the UK's ITV in 2015.

“Thunderbirds was a hugely influential television series in my childhood,” says Sir Richard Taylor, co-owner of Pukeko Pictures and Weta Workshop.

“Having watched it originally in black and white, it was only years later that I discovered the full and rich world that Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Derek Meddings, Mike Trimm and their team created. It is thrilling therefore to think we have the opportunity to work with ITV on this new series inspired by this most wonderful of British shows.

“I personally, together with the teams here at Pukeko Pictures and Weta Workshop, look forward to designing and creating an inspirational world that will engage the imagination of a whole new generation as it did for us nearly half a century ago.”

Gerry Anderson, co-creator of the original Thunderbirds show, died on Christmas Day at the age of 83.

WENN.com / 3 News

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Comments

7/02/2013 9:52:41 p.m.

Hani Jossi wrote:

Thunderbirds is truly iconic and even though I am a child of the mid 80's I still appreciate class when I witness one. I am very confident that Sir R. Taylor and the team at Weta and Pukeko will do this justice and deliver the optimum level of CGI and classic figures. Well done guys on a massive win!

6/02/2013 10:33:13 p.m.

Diane Robinson wrote:

My nephew was so frightened by Ben Kingsley's villain that he climbed into his Dad's lap when we saw the live actors version Thunderbirds movie at cinema.Sure, it was different to the puppets of my childhood, but the children loved it and that's as it should be.I look forward to the new Thunderbirds and wonder when NZ TV will screen the Computer animated revised Captain Scarlet series which Gerry Anderson produced only a few yeas ago

5/02/2013 5:58:21 p.m.

Just Me wrote:

In the 60s when I was just a kid I so loved getting home from school to watch The Thunderbirds.Back then the techology etc seemed so "out of this world".And yes I watched it in black and white as that is all you got in those days when it came to tv. Some years ago(about 2005 from memory) there was a movie made called Thunderbirds Are Go.Sir Ben Kingsley played the villan.It was such a poor and pathetic movie that critics called it Thunderbirds Are GONE. I do hope the next movie is by far a much better one than the previous one.