Kevin Costner will produce, finance and lend his voice to The Explorers Club, an animated series that will originate on the Internet during the holiday season in 12 four-minute segments.
Variety says Costner intends to build a following and then turn The Explorers Club into a live-action feature he will topline.
Created, written and directed by Chris Baird, Jon Baird and Keith Quinn of Black Lamp Productions, the animated series is a collection of gothic stories that follow a group of Victorian-era adventurers as they travel to the darkest corners of the map. The first episode will be called “A Passage to Shambhala.”
Animation will be done by Chiodo Bros. Prods., and the Webisodes will have a style reminiscent of graphic novels. Costner will produce with Robin Jonas, his partner in Treehouse Films, an offshoot of Tig Productions aimed at hatching TV and Web content.
The creators will have a feature script ready by the time the segments air on the Web. Costner plans to reprise his role as an explorer named Sloane, and he’ll have first crack at directing the live-action film.
