From the thunderous battlefields of Mahishmati to the grand stages of global animation, the Baahubali franchise is embarking on its most ambitious journey yet. What began as a record-breaking live-action phenomenon under visionary filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli is now evolving into an animated epic with global aspirations. Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1, the franchise’s first full-length animated feature, has earned a coveted place in the Work in Progress (WIP) section of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026, widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious stage for animation.
In an exclusive interaction with Animation Xpress, creator Rajamouli, show’s producer Arka Mediaworks CEO and co-founder Shobu Yarlagadda, animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla shares their insights into building the magnum opus universe. Leaders of global animation studios also joined in to talk about their experiences of working in this spectacular project.
The Next Evolution of a Cinematic Legacy
When Baahubali: The Beginning released in 2015, it transformed the landscape of Indian cinema. The franchise not only shattered box-office records but also established a deeply engaged fan community that continues to resonate with the world of Mahishmati.
Reminiscing about his immensely popular creation Rajamouli says, “Baahubali world is very dear to me, and bringing it into animation feels like a very natural evolution of that vision.” He believes, this universe always had stories that extended far beyond the scope of the live-action films and animation offers a canvas with no boundaries.
“Animation gives us the freedom to explore those worlds with a scale and imagination that is truly limitless. With Baahubali: The Eternal War, we are pushing the universe into new creative territory while still staying rooted in the emotion, mythology, and spectacle that audiences associate with Baahubali,” he adds.
According to Yarlagadda, the audience’s connection and fan engagements with Baahubali have always been very strong. “With Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1, we are expanding the universe through animation while keeping the franchise’s core elements intact- emotion, action, drama, and world-building. Audiences today are also far more open to animation as a storytelling medium than they were some time back.”
How Schirkoa’s Creator wrote Baahubali’s Next Chapter
At the helm of this ambitious project is filmmaker Shukla, whose acclaimed animated feature Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust caught the attention of Yarlagadda. He then offered the young director to develop “an animation concept within the Baahubali universe that could feel fresh, exciting, and well-suited for a stylised animated format.” Then, rest is history.
Shukla’s first reaction was: disbelief.
“Baahubali is one of the rare films that rewired what Indian audiences expect from scale and emotion, so being trusted with it is not a small thing. Once that settled, what I felt was recognition,” Shukla reveals.
After nearly a decade in independent animation, Shukla viewed the opportunity as a rewarding recognition of his work and a testament to the trust placed in him by Yarlagadda and Rajamouli.
He describes The Eternal War as “a story that wants to leave the physical world,” following Baahubali’s soul through Swarga (heaven) and Patala (hell). For him, animation was “the perfect medium” to realise a story of such scale. The film explores realms “that would otherwise be unfilmable,” making it “exactly the kind of film, animation medium was made for.”
For Shukla, expanding a beloved franchise comes with pressure, but he feels that the popularity of Baahubali also provides a strong foundation. “We are not retelling the film,” he explains. Instead, the animated feature explores “the cosmic and mythological dimension of the saga” following Baahubali’s death, giving the team the freedom to take the hero’s journey into entirely new realms through animation.
Uniting Global Talent Under One Vision
Yarlagadda, highlights how Mihira Visual Labs has played a very important role in shaping Baahubali: The Eternal War beyond just production execution. They have been deeply involved across creative planning, visual development, production management, and coordinating collaboration between multiple studios and partners working on the film.
Maintaining a unified creative vision, Mihira has played a key role in building that alignment while working closely with studios such as 88 Pictures, Zaratan, Alcyde, Les Androids Associés, and other global collaborators.
For the feature, Scott Mosier introduced Yarlagadda to Aniventure’s Adam Nagle to support the animation production process. After the first meeting it was clear how bold, exciting and pioneering the project was even in that early concept phase. Aniventure brought in their recently formed partner company Zaratan, founded by ex-Axis Studios producers Andrew Pearce and Paula Bird, who specialise in young adult animation, which the project fitted squarely into.
“Our extensive production experience delivering projects of varying styles, complexities and genres for older audiences meant that this was something we were very familiar with. Shobu, Ishan and the Indian unit brought incredible ambition and vision for the movie, along with a wealth of mythology knowledge, cinema sensibility, dance and martial arts culture that enriched the storytelling potential,” Zaratan team shares.
The Alcyde and Les Androids Associés teams were able to then take that to an incredible level visually and narratively. This production is a true melting pot of talents, styles and culture. Their team understood how epic the story was, but initially they didn’t realise how epic the fan base was as well.
“Indian mythology and culture is so rich in creativity, to have the opportunity to then bring such an incredible story to life in animation where we are limited only by our imaginations and the skills of our crew is a real honour,” Zaratan team mentions.
For the Alcyde team, the idea was to pay homage to the original films and recapture the essence of Baahubali through the unbridled spectacle and the characters’ emotions. “We therefore developed the visuals based on these key principles: spectacle, emotion and values. Ishan introduced us to Indian culture and mythology, and we pushed the superheroic aspect he was looking for.”
The Alcyde team describes the film as a “supercharged” version of Baahubali, with the hero facing forces as powerful as the gods. To achieve this scale, the studio adopted a 2.5D visual style that enables dynamic camera movements, enhanced effects and a distinct visual identity. Early efforts focused on storyboards and character designs, particularly capturing actor Prabhas’s iconic presence in animated form. Their goal was to retain the essence of the original films while bringing “something new to the table through the medium of animation.”
Calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” the 88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde says they were “thrilled beyond words” to help bring the ambitious vision to life. As one of India’s leading animation studios, his studio spent years collaborating on internationally acclaimed productions while steadily building world-class creative capabilities at home. The studio views the project as a chance to fulfil a long-held dream: bringing an Indian story to global audiences and creating what they hope will be “the finest animated film to emerge from India.”
Shinde believes the project was “meant to happen.” He credits Yarlagadda’s vision for bringing together the right talent and expressed gratitude for his trust in the studio. Praising Shukla’s bold storytelling and distinctive visual style, he noted that the director’s ambitious vision pushed everyone to think beyond conventional boundaries. Working closely with Mihira Visual Labs has been an “exhilarating” collaborative experience.
The artists at 88 Pictures working on this film represent a unique blend of some of India’s finest creative minds, artists who have mastered both the craft and the technology needed to bring these visuals to life. “As for the secret sauce behind how we’re making it all happen, we’ll keep that under wraps for now. Some things are best experienced on the big screen, and we can’t wait for audiences to discover them when they watch the film,” teases Shinde.
Voice and music play a vital role in animation, and Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is placing strong emphasis on both. Shukla reveals that M.M. Keeravani, who shaped the emotional identity of the original films, is composing the score, describing his music as capturing “memory, grief and grandeur all at once.” The voice cast combines trained voice actors and live-action stars performing in Telugu, which remains under wraps.
Annapurna Studios chief technology officer C.V. Rao shares that while working on key sequences, Shukla utilised the A&M Motion Capture Facility, one of the largest motion capture studios established by Annapurna Studios and Mihira Visual Labs in Hyderabad, India. According to the director, bringing real actors onto the mocap stage and capturing their performances, the team was able to shape scenes organically and ground them in authentic character movement and emotion. “The captured performances gave pre-vis artists a strong creative foundation while helping align the broader production around Shukla’s vision for the film,” Rao shares.
From Annecy to the World Stage
Yarlagadda sees the film’s selection in Annecy’s WIP section as a strong validation of the team’s vision. From the beginning, Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 was conceived as an animated feature rooted in Indian mythology yet designed to resonate with global audiences. The recognition, he says, reinforces the team’s confidence and motivation.
He also views the festival and Mifa market as an important platform to introduce the film to the global animation community. Beyond showcasing the project’s vision, Yarlagadda hopes to engage with creators and industry leaders worldwide, build meaningful partnerships, and demonstrate that large-scale animated storytelling from India can stand confidently on the world stage.
Rajamouli points out that Baahubali has long evolved beyond cinema, becoming one of India’s first franchises to expand into VR experiences, mobile games, television shows, merchandising and other storytelling formats. “We have always looked at ways to grow the universe meaningfully and give audiences and fans new ways to engage with it,” he remarks.
For him, Annecy offers the perfect platform to continue that journey. Calling it an opportunity to connect with the world’s leading creators and studios, Rajamouli says, “It is a great opportunity for us to share what we are creating, get inspired by new ideas and innovation in animation, and learn from the global creative community.”
Terming the Annecy selection a proud moment, Shukla notes that “an Indian animated feature at this scale” being showcased in the WIP section reflects the industry’s growing ambitions. He is particularly looking forward to the panel, where the team can “share the vision and the craft with the world” and showcase how far the project has come.
As Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 heads to Annecy, it carries more than the legacy of a blockbuster franchise, it embodies the growing ambition of Indian animation. Rooted in Indian mythology yet crafted for global audiences, the film showcases how homegrown stories can be reimagined on an international scale. Whether it becomes a defining moment for the industry remains to be seen, but its journey from Mahishmati to the world’s premier animation stage already signals a bold new chapter for Indian storytelling.
