SS Rajamouli announces new animated series, 'Baahubali: Crown of Blood'
Taking fans by surprise, SS Rajamouli announced his latest project: an animated series, titled Baahubali: Crown of Blood. The announcement was made on X/Twitter on Tuesday, where he shared a captivating video revealing the series' title amid smoke and embers. Echoing chants of Baahubali accompanied the reveal. He also confirmed that a trailer for the series will be released soon but remained silent about cast, crew, and plotline.
'Crown of Blood' joins the expansive 'Baahubali' universe
The new animated series is the latest addition to the expansive Baahubali universe. This universe originated from Rajamouli's blockbuster films that hit the screens in 2015 and 2017. The original films boasted a star-studded cast including Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sathyaraj, and Ramya Krishnan. The films in the franchise were co-produced with a budget totaling ₹430cr ($65M), and collectively amassed over ₹1,500cr in worldwide collections.
Take a look at the teaser here
'Baahubali' franchise's previous foray into animation
Crown of Blood is not the first animated venture for the Baahubali franchise. In 2017, an animated series titled Baahubali: The Lost Legends was launched on Amazon Prime Video. This project was a collaboration between Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks and was later broadcast on Colors TV. A prequel series named Baahubali: The Beginning was initially slated for Netflix but has been put on hold.
Franchise's expansion beyond films and animation
The Baahubali franchise has not limited itself to films and animation. It has also ventured into other mediums such as novels, graphic novels, and mobile games. These include a prequel English-language novel titled The Rise of Sivagami, a graphic novel Baahubali: Battle of the Bold, and a mobile game Baahubali: The Game. In 2018, the franchise even made its way to Japan with a manga adaptation by Akira Fukaya.
'Baahubali' plotline and Rajamouli's upcoming venture
The previous Baahubali installments depicted the fantastical tale of Mahishmati and its heroic prince, Amarendra Baahubali, along with his son Mahendra Baahubali. Meanwhile, this new animated project aside, Rajamouli last directed the highly-acclaimed film RRR, featuring Ram Charan and Jr NTR in lead roles. Now, the director is teaming up with Mahesh Babu for the first time on a project tentatively titled SSMB29.
