Mediawan & French firm ZAG launch JV to expand ‘Miraculous’ franchise

Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir

European production giant Mediawan has partnered with French producer ZAG to create a raft of new spin-off content from Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir series.

Miraculous Corp will reunite all facets of the Miraculous franchise under the ownership of the two partners, with the JV being majority owned by Mediawan (around 60%) and Zag (around 40%).

Jeremy Zag will continue his involvement as a major shareholder and board member, while overseeing the development and creation of existing and new characters within the franchise.

Miraculous Corp has also confirmed that a raft of new spin-off content is to be produced featuring characters such as Rainbow Light, Tiger Force, Captain Justice, Time Master, Jungle Queen and Lady Dragon.

The shows will expand the Miraculous franchise, which has seen French show Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug And Cat Noir become a global hit following its debut in 2015.

It was created by Thomas Astruc, Nathanaël Bronn and Zag, with the latter’s company co-producing with Mediawan Kids & Family. To date there have been five seasons that have been acquired by companies including Disney, Globo and TF1, while the IP claims 37 billion YouTube views.

Seasons 6 and 7 are in production, while Miraculous, The Movie 2 is also in the works, with Zag attached to direct. The first film claims to have pulled in $44m and garnered over 35 million views on Netflix within its first month. Branded products generated more than $400m retail revenue in 2023, Mediawan said.

“After all these years dedicated to passionately developing the Miraculous universe alongside Thomas Astruc, Nathanaël Bronn, and Sébastien Thibaudeau, this new chapter of our journey with Mediawan will allow us to fulfill our wildest dreams, matching the ambition we have for Miraculous,” Zag said.

“We are poised to introduce a groundbreaking universe of superheroes, one that not only captivates audiences worldwide but also champions the principles of girl power and gender equality. This innovative universe will transcend borders, captivating audiences in various forms across the globe.”

Pierre-Antoine Capton, founder & president of Mediawan, added that the launch of Miraculous Corp “will allow us to explore new creative territories and further enhance its global presence.”

French group Mediawan is in the midst of combining its operations with Germany’s Leonine Studios in a deal that will see the two firms, which are both backed by US-based private equity firm KKR, totalling 85 labels across 13 countries, with a catalogue of around 30,000 hours.