Falcon’s Beyond Engages Epic Story Media to Expand Katmandu Brand
Animated content, merchandise, gaming to grow from stories & characters of Katmandu theme park and resort, already popular with millions of families
Katmandu mythical universe seen as “infinitely expandable” by combined transmedia team of industry veterans
Vertically-integrated entertainment powerhouse Falcon’s Beyond Global, LLC has tapped Epic Story Media Inc., experts in children’s entertainment and franchise development, to support the growth of Falcon’s proprietary Katmandu™ intellectual property (IP) across the transmedia spectrum, including animated films, episodic series, consumer products, gaming, and beyond.
The combined teams will bring new Katmandu creative properties, including unique and ground-breaking animation, to the global entertainment market.
The Katmandu brand, mythical universe, and characters, wholly-owned by Falcon’s Beyond™, are already popular with the millions of families who have visited the Sol Katmandu Park & Resort in Mallorca, Spain, and the growing list of Katmandu-branded kids camps in Meliá hotels. A global pipeline of additional Katmandu parks and resorts has been announced.
Beloved Characters Headed from Parks to Screens
The collaboration between Epic Story Media and Falcon’s Beyond has begun development work to rapidly build upon the Katmandu IP’s fantastical legends.
The Katmandu brand exists in a mythical universe where portals open to Realms where anything is possible, explored by a cast of diverse adventurers. The timeless, intertwined tales inspire wonder, adventure, and imagination for all ages. Beloved Katmandu characters will grow beyond their theme park experiences into new entertainment distribution channels and take on new life with consumer products—alongside a host of newly created characters.
“Falcon’s Beyond and Epic Story Media are now deep into development of the worlds, characters, and stories to be told,” said Eric Calderon, Vice President of Creative Development at Falcon’s Beyond. “The core creative of the Katmandu brand is already so rich, and we feel it has endless possibilities! We’re envisioning adaptations into multiple episodic series as well as feature films that can appeal to kids, families and adults.”
“At Epic Story, we’re passionate about working with brands and franchises like Katmandu with 360-degree potential,” said Ken Faier, El Presidente of Epic Story Media and Executive Producer. “We see enormous possibilities in expanding the rich world and experiences of Katmandu Parks and Resorts—and we’re thrilled to help create opportunities in animation, merchandise, and licensing based on their mythical universe.”
In a few short years, Epic Story Media, since partnering with Bron Ventures, has acquired best-in-class industry executives including Marlene Schmidt, Head of Production, Jessica Labi, Head of Distribution, David Sztoser, Head of Licensing and Kim Morris, Director of Brand Management. As well, Epic has obtained Franchise and Story Consultant, Kevin Mowrer from Mowrer Meta-story, to help identify the essence behind the IP to create meaningful stories for its audience.
Animation Veteran Writer and Showrunner Sean Jara on Board
Falcon’s Beyond has also engaged animation writer and showrunner Sean Jara as part of the Katmandu brand team. Jara is well-known as the Creator of Mysticons, which launched as an animated series and line of merchandise. He has also written on many other popular properties, including Max Steel, Ben10, Inspector Gadget and developed Spy Kids: Mission Critical for Netflix. “Katmandu offers a deep well of creative material to work with,” said Sean Jara. “I’m super excited to know that the animated show we’re creating will be simultaneously enjoyed in theme parks and kids camps around the world. But the team’s first priority will be to tell a great story that’s full of heart, humor, and high adventure. That is our laser focus for now.”
Leveraging the IP Expander™ Model at Falcon’s Beyond
Falcon’s Beyond has emerged as the world’s first fully integrated source for simultaneous entertainment IP activations—from streaming media development to theme park site acquisition; master planning to brick-and-mortar projects; immersive ride & attraction design to merchandise creation; right through world-class park & resort operation.
The Katmandu brand, which includes the global rollout of cutting-edge, “Big-Experience, Small-Footprint” Katmandu theme park resorts with joint venture partner Meliá Hotels International, is a full expression of Falcon’s Beyond IP Expander™ model. Over the years, Falcon’s Beyond has worked on award-winning experiential entertainment projects totaling over $100 Billion and will soon be announcing additional IP Expander deployments with leading franchises across the world.
About Falcon’s Beyond Global LLC
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Falcon’s Beyond Global, LLC is a fully integrated, top-tier experiential entertainment development enterprise acting as a 360° IP Expander™ model. The company brings its own proprietary and partner IPs to global markets through owned and operated theme parks, resorts, attractions, patented technologies, feature films, episodic series, consumer products, licensing, and beyond. The company has won numerous design awards and provided design services in 27 countries around the world. It is composed of three core sectors: Falcon’s Creative (master planning, design and digital media), Falcon’s Licensing, and Falcon’s Parks & Resorts. Storytelling is the guiding force behind all Falcon’s Beyond™ projects—which turn imagined worlds into reality. For more information, visit www.falconsbeyondglobal.com
About Epic Story Media
Epic Story Media is a full-service children’s entertainment & products franchise company investing in creator visions with talented brand management, best-in-class development, production, distribution, marketing and licensing support. Ken Faier, the founder and driving force behind Epic Story Media, is a globally recognized industry veteran with decades of commitment to producing quality content for children across multiple platforms. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Epic Story Media produces brands and franchises with reach into international markets, delighting kids around the globe. For more information, visit www.epicstorymedia.com
