Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, streaming, Trailer, TV | Tagged: amazon, Invincibele, North Korea, prime video

Invincible: Upcoming Season Artwork Found on North Korean Server: CNN

CNN reports that drawings & documents for an upcoming season of Prime Video's Invincible and other works were found on a North Korean server.

On Sunday, Skybound Entertainment addressed "an unconfirmed report concerning a cloud storage server connected to a North Korean IP address" that reportedly contained an animation sketch from work done on Prime Video's Steven Yeun & J.K. Simmons-starring adaptation of Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker & Ryan Ottley's comic book series Invincible. The company went on to issue an official statement reaffirming that the company does not work with North Korean companies or their affiliates and that they "have no knowledge" of any North Korean company working on its animated projects – noting Skybound's policy regarding "subcontracting to any third party" animation work. When the statement went live, there was some understandable confusion – recent rumblings on social media focused on Skybound utilizing South Korean animation studios, but only in the context of differing animation styles. But a recently released report from CNN is offering some clarity…

Going live online earlier today, CNN is reporting that drawings and other work stemming from U.S. animation studios was found on a computer server located in North Korea by American researchers. Drawings & other documents for Invincible, Max's Iyanu: Child of Wonder, and other works were discovered by Boston-based cyber-sleuth Nick Roy – who then reported their findings. To be clear, CNN's reporting does not show any evidence that studios had any knowledge that documents relating to their animated projects were on a North Korean server – and it appears that work may have been third-party outsourced to North Korean illustrators & graphic designers without the original studios' knowledge. Roy and Michael Barnhart, a North Korea specialist at cyber security firm Mandiant, noted that internet connections in northeast China had been accessing the North Korean server – along with other computers within North Korea.

"To our fans: Skybound has been made aware of an unconfirmed report concerning a cloud storage server connected to a North Korean IP address. This server supposedly contains an Invincible animation sketch. Our official statement follows," began the social media post from Skybound on Sunday. "We do not work with North Korean companies or any affiliated entities and have no knowledge of any North Korean companies working on our animation. Our policies strictly prohibit any subcontracting to any third party without our express prior written consent, which, in this case, was neither sought nor granted. We also mandate that all our service providers fully comply with all applicable rules and regulations and prohibit disclosures of materials by our service providers to third parties. Skybound Entertainment takes these allegations seriously and has initiated a thorough internal review to verify and rectify any potential issues. We have also notified the proper authorities and are cooperating with all appropriate bodies."

On the Skybound Republic page for crowdfunding a new Invincible video game, there's a section listed "Invincible Season 2 on Prime Video" that includes some bullet highlights about the animated series. Originally, there was a line that read, "Season 3 in Production; renewed for Seasons 4 and 5" before the line was edited to remove that last portion – but not before news sites and fans on social media were able to get the word out.

Could it be a bit of over-enthusiasm or just assuming? Possibly a misprint? With the way animation production is handled now – with a focus on multi-season orders to stay ahead of the work – the news wouldn't be surprising.

Amazon's Prime Video series Invincible stars Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, Grey Griffin, Chris Diamantopoulos, Walton Goggins, Gillian Jacobs, Jason Mantzoukas, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Seth Rogen. Joining the Season 2 cast were Sterling K. Brown, Peter Cullen, Rob Delaney, Calista Flockhart, Phil LaMarr, Luke MacFarlane, Tatiana Maslany, Scott McNairy, Jay Pharoah, Ella Purnell, Tim Robinson, Ben Schwartz, Rhea Seehorn, Lea Thompson, Paul F. Tompkins, Shantel VanSanten & more.

Executive producers are Kirkman, Catherine Winder, David Alpert, Simon Racioppa, Margaret M. Dean, Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, and co-executive producers are Helen Leigh and Walker.

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