Ice Cube will star and executive produce the revived series
MTV Studios is re-imagining the 90’s hit Celebrity Deathmatch, the seminal stop-motion satire that skewered celebrities, politicians and everyone in between during its famed original run. Ice Cube joins the franchise for the first time and will both star and executive produce alongside his partner Jeff Kwatinetz through his Cube Vision production company. Series creator Eric Fogel will return to executive produce as well, with additional showrunners and talent to be named shortly.
The all-new Celebrity Deathmatch will be available as a weekly series for an exclusive SVOD or premium broadcast partner in 2019. The move marks the first step in reinventing the franchise across consumer products, gaming, theatrical and more.
Celebrity Deathmatch expands Ice Cube’s long-standing relationship with the MTV family, with Cube Vision currently producing Hip Hop Squares for MTV sister brand VH1.
“We’re excited to grow our partnership with Ice Cube and Cube Vision to reimagine this fan favorite,” states Chris McCarthy, President of MTV, VH1 and CMT. “Deathmatch was the meme before memes, remains a hot topic on social media and will be a smart, funny way to tackle the over-the-top rhetoric of today’s pop culture where it belongs – in the wrestling ring.”
“Happy to once again be working with Viacom and MTV on a fan favorite like Celebrity Deathmatch and to continue our success together,” states Ice Cube.
Celebrity Deathmatch is among the most beloved series in a long line of MTV animation classics. The original Celebrity Deathmatch is highly regarded as an incubator for world-class comedic talent, including New York Times-bestselling author A.J. Jacobs (1999-2002) and writers and producers who went on to contribute to comedy classics from The Simpsons to Key and Peele to Family Guy and more.
