Pacific Rim Anime Series To Premiere On Netflix Next Year

Per an announcement by Legendary Pictures, anime adaptation of the movie Pacific Rim will premiere on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) next year. Created jointly by Legendary Pictures and Polygon Pictures, the brains behind the show will be Craig Kyle and Greg Johnson, who have earlier worked together on Wolverine and The X-Men, and X-Men: Evolution.

Notably, Netflix had announced last year that both Pacific Rim and Altered Carbon would be adapted into anime series as part of its aim to further explore Asian stories.

The Pacific Rim anime will run on Netflix’s streaming service for at least two seasons, although the number of episodes in each season is yet to be revealed.

The original Guillermo del Toro movie, released in 2013, was set in the near future, in which humans designed giant sized piloted robots or Jaeger, to fight the Kaiju invading this world through a spot in the Pacific Ocean. A sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising, was released later.

Notably, before quitting the show, del Toro had intended to make a Pacific Rim animated TV show to bridge the gap between the first and second movie. The anime will revolve around two siblings who pilot an abandoned Jaeger in an effort to find their missing parents.

Upcoming Releases on the Streaming Platform

Netflix content strength has been the major growth driver in recent years. The company has a solid slate of movies and original shows for the rest of 2019.

Netflix stated via a tweet last month that its adult-oriented animated anthology series Love, Death and Robots will be releasing another season. Per the tweet, Jennifer Yuh Nelson is working as the supervising director.

Moreover, per an Engadget release this May, Netflix will stream 10 episodes of Matt Groening’s Disenchantment season one, beginning Sep 20. Reportedly, the company has ordered a second season that will contain 20 episodes.

Streaming Service Drives Strong Subscriber Growth

The company’s strong subscriber addition rate reflects the growing appeal of the streaming platform. This is also helping the company counter competition from the likes of YouTube, HBO and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Prime.

In first-quarter 2019, the streaming giant added 9.6 million subscribers, up 16.2% year over year.

Netflix’s focus on originals — both movies and TV shows — have been the key catalyst behind the company’s surging subscriber base. Further, the company’s endeavor to offer content catering to various genres has been a key catalyst in driving user engagement.

Intensifying Competition in Streaming Space

However, competition is intensifying in the streaming space as media, tech and telecom companies like AT&T (NYSE:T) , Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are pulling in the reins on their streaming services.

Nevertheless, Netflix’s aggressive investment in original content is expected to give it an edge and expand subscriber base.

Netflix currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>