Before Indian director S.S. Rajamouli became globally renowned thanks to his epic action-adventure film RRR, which rode a wave of word-of-mouth success in 2022 and won an Oscar, he was best known for his blockbuster Baahubali series of films. Period epics featuring plenty of sword and sandal action, Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion changed the face of Indian cinema. Released between 2015 and 2017, the films were set in the kingdom of Mahishmati, where a Shakespearean family feud escalated into all-out war. Fans of the films will be able to revisit the rich world of Mahishmati in an upcoming animated prequel series, titled Baahubali: Crown of Blood.

Set to be released on the South Asian streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar, Baahubali: Crown of Blood received a first trailer on Thursday. It shows Amrendra Baahubali coming face-to-face with his biggest threat; a masked, armored villain who calls himself Raktadeva, “the harbinger of death.” The series is set several years before the events of the films, in which Baahubali is betrayed by his cousin, Bhallaldeva. The trailer mentions this incident, as it sets the context of the new story. It also reveals that another major character from the films, the murderous Katappa, will make a return in the animated prequel as Raktadeva’s chieftain. Baahubali and Bhallaldeva must join hands to defeat them both. Baahubali: Crown of Blood has been described as “an untold story of epic adventure, brotherhood, betrayal, conflict and heroism.”

Baahubali was played in the live-action movies by Prabhas, while Bhallaldeva was played by Rana Daggubati. Combined, the two Baahubali movies grossed nearly $300 million worldwide and elevated Prabhas to icon status. Rajamouli, on the other hand, became India’s foremost blockbuster filmmaker; a position that he consolidated with the global success of RRR, which grossed around $160 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In a statement, Rajamouli said that he is “extremely happy to introduce this new chapter to Baahu’s fans and to bring this story into an animated format, which brings a new, exciting look to the world of Baahubali.”

Before 'RRR', Rajamouli Earned Legendary Status In India with His 'Baahubali' Movies

This isn’t the first time that a major streaming platform has attempted to create spin-offs for the Baahubali series. In 2018, Netflix announced a big-budget live-action prequel series titled Baahubali: Before the Beginning. The first season was completed, and then completely written off. The creative team and key cast members were replaced, and a second attempt was subsequently made. This version, too, was deemed unreleasable, despite millions having already been invested in the project. A 2022 Variety report said that the project is now being “reevaluated.” A separate animated prequel series, titled Baahubali: The Lost Legends, has aired for five seasons on Prime Video. The franchise has also been expanded to novels, comic books and a mobile game. Baahubali: Crown of Blood will be released on May 17. You can watch the trailer here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.