Warrior Cats finally gets its animated series on Disney+

The beloved fantasy book franchise makes its long-awaited leap to the screen in 2028, with a powerhouse creative team bringing the clans to life.

After more than two decades of captivating young readers, the Warrior Cats book series is finally getting the animated treatment it deserves — and it’s landing on one of the biggest platforms in children’s entertainment. Disney+ and Disney Channel have been confirmed as the home for the forthcoming animated series, following a deal between the Coolabi Group and Disney Kids & Family. The series is currently in production and is expected to premiere in 2028.

For millions of fans who grew up tracking the dramatic rivalries, fierce battles, and ancient prophecies of feral cat clans, the announcement marks a moment years in the making.

The production comes with serious pedigree behind the camera. Showrunner A.C. Bradley, a Daytime Emmy winner and Primetime Emmy nominee whose credits include Ms. Marvel, What If…?, and Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, will lead the series. Joining Bradley in the director’s chair is Rodrigo Blaas, a Daytime Emmy winner with a background that spans Star Wars: Visions — Sith and Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, as well as earlier animation work on Pixar titles including Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and WALL-E. El Guiri Studios will collaborate on direction.

The animation itself will be handled by Original Force, a China-based studio recognized for its work in CG and game content creation. The series is being produced on behalf of Tencent Video, which struck a development deal with Coolabi Group in 2024.

Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis framed the acquisition as a natural fit for the platform’s mission, describing the franchise as one that has genuinely shaped a generation of readers and a community it is eager to serve.

The Warrior Cats series was created by Working Partners, a Coolabi Group company, and written under the pen name Erin Hunter. The books follow the layered drama of multiple wild cat clans — their conflicts, mystical prophecies, and struggles for survival. Since the first title was published, the series has sold more than 90 million copies, been translated into 38 languages, and maintained a presence on the New York Times bestseller list for two decades.

Its reach in the digital age is just as striking. The official Warrior Cats website drew more than 2 million annual users last year. User-generated content on YouTube generates roughly 50 million views each month, and content across TikTok has accumulated nearly 3 billion views. On Roblox, Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition ranks consistently among the top branded games on the platform, with more than 735 million plays to date.

The upcoming series marks the franchise’s first officially authorized animated adaptation.

Executives at Coolabi Group have characterized this as a banner period for the property. A line of Warrior Cats toys launched at retail in the United States earlier this year, signaling the brand’s expansion beyond books and digital content. CEO Will Harrison credited former CEO Jeremy Banks alongside Coolabi EVP Allison Watkins for brokering the Disney agreement, calling the partnership a cornerstone of the franchise’s long-term growth strategy — both domestically and internationally.

The animated series will draw from Warrior Cats: The Prophecies Begin, the original story arc that introduced readers to the world of ThunderClan, ShadowClan, and the ancient codes that govern them.

For the uninitiated, the Warrior Cats saga is less a simple children’s adventure than a fully realized mythology — complete with its own lore, hierarchy, and moral tensions. It is precisely the kind of source material that, in the hands of the right team, translates into prestige animation. With Bradley and Blaas at the helm and Disney’s platform reach behind it, the series has every ingredient to become essential family viewing when it finally arrives.

Source: Animation Magazine