Last Christmas, sometime while you either werent looking or were solely focused on graver matters, Netflix released whats shaping up to be its most-watched childrens series ever, from one of the industrys most whimsical storytellers and if the shows demographic-dashing storyline didnt catch your eye the first go-round, youre being summoned by the storyteller himself to catch on for season 2.
Trollhunters comes from Guillermo del Toro and marks both a first for the filmmaker a bingeable creation for Netflix and a return to form by way of a long-standing history with DreamWorks Animation, where Del Toro cut his teeth in the medium. EW can exclusively reveal that, following the successful run of the first 26 episodes, a second season of 13 episodes will arrive later this year, with production already long underway for season 2.
The show follows the adventures of Jim (Anton Yelchin, who recorded the first season before his death in June), a teenager-turned-warrior called upon by an underground civilization of trolls to defend their way of life from both humans and evil trolls alike. The returning cast includes Charlie Saxton and Lexi Medrano as Jims cohorts Toby and Claire, Kelsey Grammer as his troll mentor Blinky, and Clancy Brown as the series big bad, Gunmar.
Whats important to know about Trollhunters and its expansive world-building is that despite the shows impending viewership pedigree, its stunning visuals shouldnt be construed as simply for kids. As Del Toro himself tells it, Trollhunters is for kids in the same way as Pacific Rim and Hellboy were for kids which is to say, they straddle the optics of genre in a way that much (although definitely not all) of the directors work does.
To announce season 2, Del Toro spoke with EW about the validation of renewal, how the show will handle the loss of Yelchin, and where the series and Del Toro himself will go from here.
