#Crunchyroll Reaches 5 Million Subscribers, Announces New Project

Today, we have a double-whammy of an announcement! One year ago, we hit three million subscribers. Six months ago we hit four million. Now, we are pleased to announce that we have passed five million paid users around the world and over 120 million registered users overall!!

This huge achievement is only possible because of the amazing community of anime fans backing us up. People tune in to watch anime on our site across 200 countries and territories all around the world, and it’s an honor to be able to connect so many people to the stories and art that they care about.

Going hand-in-hand with this milestone, Crunchyroll is proud to announce the development of Dark Star Squadron, an epic animated space opera, in partnership with Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Pictures. Todd Ludy (Voltron: Legendary Defender) is onboard to write for the series, with Zoe Saldana, Cisely Saldana, and Mariel Saldana of Cinestar Pictures serving as Executive Producers. Sonia A. Gambaro and Maytal Gilboa from Pollinate Entertainment are also producing. 

Crunchyroll describes the story:

Dark Star Squadron follows the journey of four failing cadets who return from a joyride with a stolen starship to find their academy in ruins and everyone vanished. Now on their own, the ill-equipped heroes embark for the far side of the galaxy to find the missing and prove their worth.

On the occasion, Joanne Waage, general manager of Crunchyroll said, “the tremendous growth of our streaming service is indicative of the growing love for anime and its deserved spotlight in popular culture. Zoe and her team are bringing their own anime fandom to their storytelling and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

”As true animation and anime fans ourselves, we are so excited for the opportunity to partner with Crunchyroll to bring ‘Dark Star Squadron’ to a wide audience,” said Cinestar’s Zoe, Cisely and Mariel Saldana. “We can’t wait for everyone to meet the crew and follow the journey of our unlikely heroes.”

“We’re elated to be working with such a talented creative team on the development of ‘Dark Star Squadron,’ a new fantasy adventure series,” said Sarah Victor, Head of Development, Crunchyroll. “We love working with creators who are passionate about telling stories through anime and we can’t wait to bring this interstellar epic to fans across the galaxy.”

Stay tuned for more news on Dark Star Squadron, but until then, we want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us and pushed us past another amazing milestone.