'An Orange Alien Girl, a Blue Man, and a Cute Creature' - Primal's Creator Reveals the Aborted Season 3 Ideas He Had for an Anthology Version of the Series

Genndy Tartakovsky, the mastermind down beloved animated hits similar Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars (the archetypal version!), is yet bringing backmost Primal, his astonishing pre-prehistoric wonderment astir the Neanderthal Spear (Aaron LaPlante) and his faithful T-rex, Fang (Joel Valentine). While the Season 2 finale of the amusement backmost successful 2022 saw the decease of Spear (if a blessed ending for Fang... eventually!), the amusement is present yet backmost for a 3rd season. And incredibly, Spear is backmost arsenic well.

But yes, he's inactive dead.

Tartakovsky was connected manus astatine CCXP successful São Paulo, Brazil, this past play to speech astir what's adjacent for Spear and the Primal universe. And on the way, helium besides filled successful the assemblage connected the aborted ideas helium had for the anthology bid Season 3 was primitively meant to morph into.

Primal Season 3: The Anthology Series That Could've Been

"For the 3rd season, I thought, alright, well, we've got 20 episodes. We astir apt should beryllium done," Tartakovsky told the CCXP crowd. "I anticipation everyone's seen it! We killed disconnected Spear, and I wanted to marque Primal an anthology show. Still, it says Primal, but past it would beryllium 'Creation' oregon something, a antithetic heading. So I started to draw, and the archetypal thought was of this orangish alien miss and a bluish man. They were born, benignant of similar Adam and Eve, and they conflict and they combat antithetic creatures. It benignant of felt conscionable not right."

Earlier successful his presentation, Tartakovsky had explained that helium believes successful the "organic nature" of filmmaking, truthful erstwhile thing feels close helium conscionable goes with it. "I've ever benignant of trusted my gut," helium said.

"And truthful it wasn't working," helium continued successful notation to the orangish miss and bluish man. "And I'm like, 'Oh, possibly much alien, benignant of insectoid things.' And that wasn't working. Then I had this thought astir a cute carnal who has to survive. I was like, 'That's benignant of neat.' But past it felt precise cute, and I don't cognize what makes this adult. So I had each these questions. And is it excessively acold distant from Primal, right? So you could spot maine processing it and I was benignant of funny successful it, and past it conscionable didn't consciousness right. I didn't consciousness close astir it."

The bottommost line? The creator of Spear missed... Spear.

"And past I felt bittersweet that Spear was gone," chuckled the animator. "And I was like, what did I do? I spent 20 episodes trying to get an assemblage and trying to person everybody emotion Spear and Fang. And past I ended it."

Until helium didn't.

The Return of (Zombie) Spear

Tartakovsky pointed retired that portion we the assemblage whitethorn binge a amusement successful a day, oregon adjacent conscionable ticker it implicit the people of a fewer months, for him and his accumulation squad it's 2 years that's spent connected each season. Ultimately it's a antithetic acquisition for the creators, who walk truthful overmuch clip with these characters, and for the fans, for whom a play tin travel and spell arsenic rapidly arsenic a T-rex tin drawback an ape-man successful half.

"So I realized, ohio no, possibly I made a mistake. And I was like, what americium I going to do?" said Tartakovsky. "And past it deed me. We're going to marque Spear a zombie!"

Spear lives. Ish.

The satellite of Primal has ever been steeped successful the supernatural -- this amusement was ne'er a past lesson. And indeed, the Season 1 occurrence "Plague of Madness" progressive a zombie plague of sorts. So it wasn't a leap to bring backmost Spear, adjacent if successful doing truthful helium mightiness look a spot worse for wear.

"Yeah, this feels right," laughed Tartakovsky. "Then arsenic we started to make the story, I was truly excited astir it due to the fact that of the magnitude of emotion that we get to bring in. I get to travel up with a caller warring benignant -- caveman/zombie warring style, immoderate that is, immoderate that's going to be. And his travel started to travel alive. And past I started drafting him in. Drawing a battered zombie Spear was ace amusive and we started to play with however overmuch emotions helium was going to have. Again, figuring retired however he's going to locomotion and basal and then, hold a second, right? He's going to beryllium naked. So present we person a bare zombie caveman! And that was it. Yes, we person to bash it."

Primal Season 3 Exclusive Clip

The fans astatine CCXP were besides treated to an exclusive clip from the caller play that showed disconnected zombie Spear successful each his lumbering, fight-ready, naked, and benignant of gross glory. And portion Tartakovsky isn't acceptable to uncover yet however Spear gets zombified, what is wide is that conscionable due to the fact that the Neanderthal is undead now, that doesn't mean that he's not our leader anymore.

In the clip, we spot Spear walking and walking... and walking. He has the determination that lone a zombie could have, simply pushing guardant done assorted landscapes without a thought to nutrient oregon h2o oregon rest. Although it's wide that determination is some thought going connected wrong his (slightly scalped) head, due to the fact that yet helium stops successful his tracks and growls/yells astatine immoderate perceived threat. All of a abrupt what tin lone beryllium described arsenic a elephantine sandworm ala Dune bursts retired of the ground. Things precise rapidly crook into a classical Primal pursuit scene, which includes Spear running, yet connected each fours and successful a distinctly non-zombie manner. We besides spot speedy flashes of visions the caveman is having, seemingly of him moving with... a dinosaur!

Back successful reality, helium falls into a chasm filled with prickly vines, but is impervious to wounded present (or rather, conscionable doesn't attraction if his soma is damaged). He escapes, lone to travel look to look with the worm again. The humongous happening appears from underground close beneath Spear and seems to person yet caught its prey. With Spear successful the creature's mouth, helium manages to clasp its jaws unfastened and leap down to the ground. But then, the worm abruptly falls hard onto Spear, similar a hammer hitting a nail... And chopped to the Primal rubric card!

Tartakovsky besides talked a spot astir what drives him to marque his art: "We're ever pushing color, we're ever pushing mood. No bluish skies, greenish grass, thing normal. Everything's got to person a constituent of presumption and a temper to it. Half of the things that I do, oregon adjacent much than half, is to spot the artists that I situation myself with bash it. Oh, I came up with this jungle background. How is Christian going to gully it? How's Scott going to overgarment it? What benignant of communicative is it going to be? So I'm a small kid enjoying myself and surrounding myself with these astonishing talented people."

Primal Season 3's Release Date

Primal's 3rd play premieres connected Sunday, January 11, astatine 11:30pm ET/PT connected Adult Swim, and the adjacent time connected HBO Max.

Talk to Scott Collura connected Twitter astatine @ScottCollura, oregon perceive to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or bash both!