New MONKEY Series in Development

“Born from an egg on a mountain top, the punkiest monkey that ever popped…”

In some news that will likely split opinion amongst longtime genre fans, Monkey – as in Monkey Magic! – is being rebooted.

It’s been announced that ABC, TVNZ and Netflix are coming together for a reboot of the show, which will be titled The Legend of Monkey. The current plan is for the series to premiere next year, and production is already underway in New Zealand.

On this news, ABC’s Michael Carrington said, “The mythical tale of the Monkey King is a story that continues to captivate global audiences. Our production partner See-Saw Films is bringing The Legend of Monkey to life through incredible locations and sets, an acclaimed production team and an exciting diverse young cast. We can’t wait for fans to see this new series that features the heroes they love and we are just as excited to introduce this re-imagined magical and exciting world to a whole new generation of viewers.”

So that’s that, then.

The original series – known as Saiyuki in Japan and Monkey or Monkey Magic in other countries – debuted back in 1978 and told the story of… well, frankly, the story was a little slack and pretty bonkers for the most part. To give a quick summary, Monkey had to guard the Peach Garden of Immortality but ending up actually munching on the peaches himself, thus becoming immortal. Long story short, he’s joined by a couple of monks and some other out-of-sort sorts and heads of on a pilgrimage full of adventure, ass kickings, and plenty of random creatures and monsters.

Where The Legend of Monkey is concerned, this new take on an old favourite will initially be developed as ten half-hour episodes that follow a teenage girl and a trio of fallen gods on a journey to rid the world of a demon.

As ever, expect more on this as we get it. In the meantime, “Monkey magic, Monkey magic, Monkey magic, Monkey magic…”