The systematic recreation of the entire 1980s continues with news from The Tracking Board that cartoon series Dino-Riders is to be developed into a movie, and possibly a franchise.

Created by Gerry Conway (who is best known for co-creating The Punisher and killing Gwen Stacy) with his then-wife Carla, Dino-Riders saw the noble human race of Valorians invaded by the bestial humanoids the Rulons, and both sides were inadvertently sent back in time to prehistoric Earth, where dinosaurs were subsequently co-opted into the struggle. Being all noble and peaceful, the Valorians befriended the thunder lizards by way of telepathic communication, while the evil Rulons used mind-controlling technology to enforce their acquiescence.

Basically, what you really need to know is that psychic warriors from the future continue their endless war with megalomaniacal animal-men by both sides outfitting dinosaurs with battle armour, missile batteries and laser cannons. If the prospect of a big-screen portrayal of such a premise does not make your inner child flail with excitement then quite frankly there is nothing more for us to talk about.

Like many animated series of the time, the main purpose of the cartoon was as a marketing strategy to advertise the accompanying toy line, not that anyone was complaining with a concept so gloriously ludicrous.