Call Of Duty Movie And Skylanders TV Series In Works From Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard is kicking off BlizzCon with a bang by announcing Activision Blizzard Studio, a new wing of the gaming giant that will adapt the studio's many games franchise for television and film.

The first project for the new studio is an animated TV series based on the Skylanders franchise. Titled Skylanders Academy, Eric Rogers (Futurama, Brickleberry) wills serve as series showrunner. Voice talents include Justin Long as Spyro the Dragon, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks as Eruptor and Norm MacDonald as Glumshanks.

The new studio is also developing Call of Duty as a film series. The first installment is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2018 or 2019, with possible TV projects also under consideration.

Fan favorite Blizzard franchises like Diablo and StarCraft are now also in the studio's hands.

Nick van Dyk, former senior executive at The Walt Disney Company, will serve as the new studio's co-president.

"Activision Blizzard Studios has the unique advantage of starting with a library of world-class intellectual property that includes some of the largest franchises which have not yet been developed in film and television," van Dyk said. "Our library spans more than 30 years of global entertainment culture."