Universal Cartoon Studios and Electronic Arts/ORIGIN Systems Team To Create Wing Commander Academy

Universal Cartoon Studios and Electronic Arts/ORIGIN Systems Team To Create Wing Commander Academy is a press release published by Origin Systems on May 14, 1996 announcing the development of Wing Commander Academy. The original post is available via the Archive.

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For Immediate Release

Universal Cartoon Studios and Electronic Arts/ORIGIN Systems Team To Create Wing Commander Academy

Animated Series Premieres On USA Network This Fall

(Universal City, CA, May 14, 1996) Universal Cartoon Studios and Electronic ArtsŪ (Nasdaq:ERTS) have joined forces to produce Wing CommanderŪ Academy, an animated series based on the award-winning Wing Commander line of PC games from Electronic Arts ORIGIN SystemsŪ subsidiary, it was announced today by MCA Television Entertainment President Barbara Fisher and Electronic Arts Chairman and CEO Larry Probst. Thirteen initial half-hour Wing Commander Academy episodes are being produced at Universal Cartoon Studios and will premiere Fall 96 on the USA Network (air times to be determined).

"There is a very broad audience for the vision being realized through the marriage of the Wing Commander PC game and the new animated series," said Fisher. "Jeff Segal, former Universal Cartoon Studios president, had the creative foresight to originally develop Wing Commander Academy with Electronic Arts, and were very proud the project continues Universal Cartoon Studios overall commitment to produce high-quality, story-driven animation for the marketplace."

Adds Electronic Arts Chairman and CEO Larry Probst, "We have long believed the best-selling Wing Commander franchise was the perfect vehicle to move our compelling interactive content to a broader entertainment medium. Partnering with Universal Cartoon Studios has been a superb match, combining our characters and stories with their considerable linear production experience."

Universal Cartoon Studios has secured several of the talented cast members from the Wing Commander III and Wing Commander IV PC games to provide voices for the Wing Commander Academy animated series. Reprising their roles from the game are Malcolm McDowell (Star Trek: Generations), Mark Hamill (Star Wars trilogy) and Tom Wilson (Back to the Future I, II and III). Joining the regular cast in a new role is Emmy award-winning actress Dana Delany (China Beach).

Electronic Arts is a leading global publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software for personal computers and advance entertainment systems. Electronic Arts, Origin Systems and Wing Commander are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts or its own wholly-owned subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Universal Cartoon Studios is a division of MCA INC., a unit of the Seagram Company, Ltd., a global beverage and entertainment/communications company.

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WING COMMANDER ACADEMY

FACT SHEET

MAIN CAST:

MARK HAMILL	"Blair"
TOM WILSON	"Maniac"
MALCOLM MCDOWELL	"Tolwyn"
DANA DELANY	"Archer"

PREMIERE:

FALL 96 on the USA Network

(air times to be determined)

PREMISE:

The very distant future serves as backdrop for the Wing CommanderAcademy storyline. Blair (Hamill) and Maniac (Wilson) are space fighter pilots in the Terran Confederation, which is caught in the thick of a brutal war against a cat-like alien menace called the Kilrathi. The Wing Commander Academy animated series will pick up the story early in the pilots careers, while still earning their wings at the Confederation Flight School Academy, where Tolwyn (McDowell) serves as commandant. Things begin to take on a very interesting twist as the young pilots in-training begin venturing out on Confederation patrols.

WING COMMANDER PC GAME INFORMATION:

Wing Commander is one of the most wildly successful computer games in the history of electronic entertainment. More than 3-million Wing Commander games have been sold worldwide since the first Wing Commander landed on store shelves in 1990. Wing Commander games have been created on multiple platforms and have shipped in multiple languages. Since its inception, Wing Commander has taken the gaming experience to new levels, revolutionizing the industry with its move from animated characters to live actors and real sets.