Studiocanal and Editions Albert René have signed an exclusive development agreement for the fifth live action movie inspired by the adventures of French comic strip hero Asterix.
The deal comes as French publishing house Éditions Albert René marks the 65th anniversary of the creation of the plucky Gaul warrior Asterix and his sidekick Obelix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in 1959.
Since then, 400 million Asterix books in 130 languages and dialects have sold worldwide, with 40 albums of Asterix adventures published since 1961.
The Asterix & Obelix comic books are embedded in French culture and inspired five live-action film to date: Claude Zidi’s Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar (1999), Alain Chabat’s Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann’s Asterix At The Olympic Games (2008), Laurent Tirard’s Asterix & Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012) and Guillaume Canet’s Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023).
They have had mixed fortunes at the box office with Alain Chabat’s Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra hitting a highpoint for the franchise, selling 14.4M tickets at home and another 10M outside of France in 2008.
Studiocanal emphasized its past successes in adapting literary works into films and series, as well as its ability to take the big franchises around the world, starting with Paddington.
“I am delighted with this exclusive development agreement signed with Editions Albert René, which will allow Studiocanal to produce the sixth live action Asterix adventure film,” said Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh.
“But more than that, on behalf of Studiocanal and the Canal+ Group, I feel honoured by the trust placed in us by Editions Albert René. We are aware that Asterix is a cultural icon, and will ensure that we respect his world, in tribute to the work of its amazing creators René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.”
Editions Albert René was created by Uderzo in 1979, two years after the death of Goscinny, and manages the rights to the Asterix estate.
Its President Of Editions Isabelle Magnac welcomed the deal: “Studiocanal was able to convince us of its ambition, its international know-how, the quality of its teams and its professionalism. By working closely together, we will develop this new film around the legendary work created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.
“Signing this agreement marks a further new stage in the on-screen adventures of Asterix along with the release of the Netflix series by Alain Chabat in 2025 and the M6 cartoon planned for 2026.”
No details on the storyline, schedule, cast or director were available as yet.
