It looks like the ThunderCats are about to have a real Lion King moment. While I wouldn't call Lion-O Simba and expect to walk away without some scratches, the upcoming relaunch of the ThunderCats series by writer Greg Pak and artist David Cousens is going to have these cats going feral... literally, as Lion-O will become what's called 'The Feral King.'

Pak is no stranger to putting heroes through their paces, and how to grow, they must change, and change sometimes involves breaking from the way you used to be. He did it with Marvel's Hulk in the 'Planet Hulk' and World War Hulk sagas, with Marvel's Phoenix in the Endsong and Warsong series, with DC's Superman in his Action Comics run, and again with Lucasfilm's Darth Vader in his Marvel Comics series.

"I might be best known in comics for writing the Hulk and Darth Vader, so my abiding interest in monsters and dark sides shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone," Pak says with a laugh in an interview inside Dynamite's October 2026 catalog, which is publishing ThunderCats. "In this case, I found myself thinking about the fact that the ThunderCats are all, well, cats! And it seems like there’s so much to explore there. So yes, a big attraction of the Feral King is to see what kind of cats these cats really are."

Pak says that this outward appearance of the ThunderCats growing up and growing more beastial mirrors what's going on inside of them, especially for Lion-O.

"The bigger thematic impulse comes from the fact that Lion-O is the Lord of Thundera, essentially a king. And one of the great virtues of the original series is that it constantly explores the notion that he needs to work through his youth and inexperience and recklessness in order to fulfill his responsibilities," Pak continues. "I wanted to take that notion a big step further, to question the validity of monarchy and authoritarian leadership, to essentially ask if ANYONE should be a king. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I think the Feral King gives us a huge opportunity to explore all of that in ways that respect all the continuity that all the creators in Declan Shalvey’s run built while setting up massive consequences for all our characters."

Thundercats #1 by Greg Pak and David Cousens hits shelves beginning October 7. 

Interested? Here's where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here's a guide to how (and where) to read comics online.