Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Governator' Cartoon Sells Internationally

CANNES – Arnold Schwarzenegger has defied the naysaers – again – as his return to the entertainment business, the cartoon The Governator, was snatched up by buyers across the globe.

Broadcasters from the U.K., Italy, Spain, France and Germany have boarded The Governator, which was one of the most talked-about project at this year's international TV market Mip TV. Channels including RTL2 in Germany and Cartoon Network Latin America snatched up the animated actioner on the basis of a short trailer Schwarzenegger screened at Mip on Monday and the Schwarzenegger brand.

“I've been coming to Mip TV for 25 years, I've made 5,000 half-hours of television and I've never had a reaction to a series like this,” said Andy Heyward, who is producing the Governator series through his A Squared Entertainment shingle. Comic legend Stan Lee is developing the series and will write the scripts. Heyward said U.S. rights to the series have not yet been sold but that talks with interested domestic broadcasters will begin shortly.

Your Family Entertainment, the Munich-based group which is handling world sales on the series, said they have sold out German-speaking rights to The Governator, with SFR in Switzerland and ORF in Schwarzenegger's home country of Austria signing on.

Though The Governator has managed to sell in several territories, the cartoon received lukewarm reviews. "I was hoping he'd be back with an action series or another film -- that's what the market wants," one veteran European buyer said.

The Governator cartoon series is set to deliver next year. A 3D feature film based on the show, which imagines the ex-governor of California as a Batman-like crime fighter, is planned for 2013.