Brian Volk-Weiss Eyes Classic Animation IPs He Still Wants to Create

Brian Volk-Weiss, known for creating “The Toys That Made Us,” has transitioned into producing toys and creating new animated series based on nostalgic properties from his youth. With “Biker Mice From Mars” making a return and new episodes of “RoboForce” on the horizon, Volk-Weiss shared with ComicBook that there are more shows he aims to revive, and he’s actively pursuing some of them.

Volk-Weiss mentioned that one significant challenge is negotiating with the intellectual property (IP) holders, who are often the original creators. These creators are typically reluctant to part with their rights or allow someone else to manage their legacy.

“At the moment, yes, but we have two IPs we’re in contract on now,” Volk-Weiss explained. “This whole process is a dance because frequently we’re trying to obtain the rights from the creator, and it’s their baby.”

He further elaborated, “I understand their perspective. Like with ‘Toys that Made Us,’ there’s a character in ‘RoboForce’ called Detonator—he’s my baby. You need to delicately suggest, ‘You made something great, but you’ve had it for 25 years without doing anything new. Let us help you make some money and bring it back.’ These conversations often take time as people need to come to the conclusion that they can’t take it with them.”

Volk-Weiss highlighted their past successes in relaunching IPs, noting, “People are seeing our work with ‘RoboForce’ and ‘Biker Mice from Mars.’ Toys were released right away. The same thing happened with ‘Moo Mesa.’ We announced we acquired the IP, and less than two months later, we were selling the toys.”

“RoboForce: The Animated Series” is set in 2089. The latest iteration of Soraya Aviram’s RoboForce aimed to assist a new intergalactic society on Earth. However, on the same day as the announcement, Soraya’s rival, Silas Duke, introduced his Utopia Aegis 101 line of bots, rendering RoboForce obsolete. RoboForce disbanded and spent 15 years in menial jobs until a rogue code infiltrated the Utopia Aegis 101 bots, causing them to turn against humanity. Only Maxx 89 and the rest of RoboForce can save the day.

The series will be executive produced by Brian Volk-Weiss, who is also directing, along with Cisco Henson, Matt Kravitsky, Michael Goodman, Tom Stern, and Gavin Hignight for Nacelle. Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Brian Gewirtz will serve as executive producers on behalf of Seven Bucks Productions.