Highlights
- VIZ Media has partnered with The Gotham Group to develop RWBY and VIZ Originals into film and television projects.
- The agreement builds on VIZ’s 2024 acquisition of RWBY, although no specific adaptations have been announced.
- The partnership reflects a wider trend of publishers investing in cross-media productions.
VIZ Media has signed a strategic partnership with The Gotham Group to develop film and TV projects based on its original intellectual property, the companies announced on Aug 7, 2026. The deal centers on the RWBY franchise and the VIZ Originals graphic novel imprint, according to Deadline’s report.
The companies said the partnership will focus on identifying and developing adaptation opportunities across VIZ’s growing portfolio. “From the beginning, our vision for RWBY has been to build a global franchise that connects with fans across every medium,” VIZ Media President and CEO Brad Woods said in a statement.
Gotham Group Partnership Extends VIZ's Franchise-Building Strategy
The deal covers adaptations of VIZ Originals, the publisher’s line of creator-owned graphic novels, alongside RWBY, the multimedia franchise VIZ acquired in 2024 from Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros. Discovery. The companies have not announced specific film or television projects or attached studios, writers, or directors.
Created by the late Monty Oum, RWBY remains one of the publisher’s high-profile entertainment IPs. The series has generated more than 350M views globally, expanded into manga, novels, games, merchandise, and the anime RWBY: Ice Queendom.
Gotham Group founder and CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein highlighted RWBY’s significance, describing the franchise as “one of the most prolific out there.” The company’s portfolio includes productions such as The Maze Runner films, Spiderwick Chronicles, The Search for WondLa, and the like.
VIZ confirmed at Anime Expo 2026 that RWBY Volume 10 has been greenlit, giving the franchise renewed momentum ahead of the new development initiative. VIZ Originals’ library also includes the publisher’s line of creator-driven graphic novels, including Rem and Bikkuri’s Devil's Candy, Sam Sattin’s Lynx, and Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl.
Beyond RWBY and its manga imprint, VIZ also publishes licensed Japanese manga franchises such as One Piece, Demon Slayer, Naruto, and Jujutsu Kaisen. The partnership also reflects VIZ’s broader strategy of owning and expanding IPs rather than serving solely as a manga publisher.
The move fits a broader industry pattern of publishers pushing further into cross-media development and creating new properties. Similarly, in 2025, Warner Bros Animation entered a deal with WEBTOON to adapt the platform’s webcomic properties. Netflix has greenlit live-action adaptations of Sword Art Online and Gundam, while Sony Pictures is developing Ghost in the Shell.
