English card manufacturer, Cards Inc has acquired the license to create a line of collectibles based on the new Universal Pictures live action Thunderbirds movie. The new film is based on Gerry Anderson's 1964-66 low-budget BritishTV series, which used puppets (Supermarionation) to tell the story of an ex-astronaut and his five sons, who form an international rescue team based on their own private island. Each of the sons has his own specialized vehicle and there are plenty of other futuristic means of transportation around including Lady Penelope's machine gun-equipped Rolls Royce, which is known as the FAB 1. With all the vehicles and a built-in cult audience from the TV series, which was recently rerun on Tech TV (see 'Thunderbirds On Tech TV'), this property is a natural for trading cards -- and Cards Inc hopes to make maximum use of the films numerous vehicles and futuristic costumes in creating 'chase' cards. In addition to trading cards, Cards Inc also has the right to produce lithographs, collectible film cels, resin statues, and prop replicas.
Directed by Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker from STNG), the Thunderbirds live action film is currently slated for a release in the summer of 2004, although the exact date is yet to be determined. Unlike the low budget TV series it is based on, the new Thunderbirds film is a major production and Universal has been treating it like a key 'tentpole' release.
