We just announced the Season 2 premiere date for Activision Blizzard Studios' Skylanders Academy on Netflix, but now fans get a chance to find out what's in store this season thanks to insight from the show's creator, Eric Rogers. With the Season 2 premiere just a few short weeks away, you still have time to catch up with Season 1 on Netflix now. The story tells the tale of Spyro the Dragon (Justin Long), Eruptor (Jonathan Banks), Stealth Elf (Ashley Tisdale), Jet-Vac (Jonny Rees) and Pop Fizz (Bobcat Goldthwait) under the tutelage of Master Eon (Chris Diamantopoulos) as they attempt to defend the Skylands from evil.

In this interview, Rogers reveals what he thinks makes Spyro a hero and how his journey will shape him this season. He also confirmed not only the return of the show's fantastic core cast but newcomers as well. (Could Rogers' own voiced video game character make an appearance? You'll have to read on to find out!) We also talked about how the video game adaptation came about, tailoring it for the target audience and for Netflix's vision, and more. Check it out below!

Some spoilers may follow for folks who aren't caught up with Season 1.

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Image via Netflix

First of all, now that the official announcement for the Season 2 release date is out there, here's how Rogers reacted to that news:

Eric Rogers: It feels awesome. It’s been a long time coming. Working on a CG show like this, it takes a long time from inception to the final produced form of a show. Our staff probably started working on the first episode of this season back in June of 2016. I’ve been champing at the bit to give [fans] something, so it’s exciting that the time to premiere the show is finally upon us.

The fans have been a big part of the show's success. Rogers was quick to praise their enthusiasm and feedback: 

Rogers: You hope for the best with anything that you create, but the positive feedback we’ve received throughout the year has just been so nice. The support for future seasons and the hunger to see these new seasons of the show, it’s been really cool. It’s gratifying to know we did something right and this is connecting to people in the way that we hoped it would.

And not just kids. I know for a fact that some of the fans are adults, not only adults who have this love and appreciation for the Skylanders games, but also the parents of kids saying, “Thanks for making a show that I can watch with my kids and that my kids can watch, and that has themes that are meaningful.” We don’t try to scar the kids too much with our humor or try to be too edgy with it … even though I try to get away with stuff every now and then.

It’s been great. It’s a real pleasure to be able to engage with fans. It’s an amazing new world we’re in where you can create something and then instantly have somebody go, “Hey, I like what you did!” It’s super cool.

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Image via Activision Blizzard, Netflix

With experience writing for older-skewing series like Futurama and Brickleberry, I was curious to see how Rogers and his writing team shifted their tone for a younger audience: 

Rogers: It was an adjustment. My first approach with the show as a bit edgier; it leaned more Futurama, for sure. We learned pretty quickly that Netflix wasn’t interested in being involved. At that moment, we realized if Netflix is going to be our distributor, they’re probably going to want to do a show that’s aimed toward a younger audience. They really had become a player in the kids’ animation space at that time. So we had to dial it back. We didn’t want to take it so far back with the humor that … if an older sibling or parent was watching the show, they could get a couple of the jokes maybe that the kids wouldn’t. We wanted to keep some of that alive in every episode throughout the series. We also realized we shouldn’t take it too far.

It was an adjustment, but it wasn’t too tough. I’ve been writing in this space, doing freelance stuff off and on between Futurama and Skylanders so I had a feel with shows like Wander Over Yonder and Teen Titans Go! like, this is a kind of younger type of writing we need to be doing. When it was apparent that that was the type of show we needed to do, it was like, “Okay, we can wrap our minds around this and do this.” And we did; it turned out really well.

Here's how Rogers came to be involved with Skylanders Academy in the first place:  

Rogers: I was working on another show for another studio and my agent called me saying, “Start researching,” because I had a meeting with Activision Blizzard Studios for Skylanders. I was like, “Oh, okay. Great!” I went in to meet with Nick van Dyk and Sander Schwartz who were overseeing the show solely at the time. They told me what they were planning on doing and the characters that they wanted to use for the series and that they wanted some writers’ takes on what the show could be.

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Image via Netflix

I went away from that meeting and took a couple weeks to think about my approach of the show, and then I came back. I had another meeting with Nick and Sander and said, “Here’s where I think the heart of the show is.” I had the five main figures in my bag. I took them all out and set them on the table and said, “Here’s where I think Spyro’s going in this show and what his journey is and why I think he’s interesting. And here’s what I think Eruptor’s awesome. And this is why Jet-Vac is going to be somebody we love. And of course this is what Stealth Elf is all about.” I ran down the line with the five main characters, and then I talked a bit about Eon and Kaos, which are the NPCs. I laid out a little bit of backstory and mythology that connected everybody together, and that was what sealed the deal. About a month later, we were breaking the pilot out.

And now for what the fans have been waiting for! Here's what Rogers thinks makes Spyro such an interesting lead and what challenges and changes await him in Season 2:

Rogers: I always gravitate to the backstory of a hero who didn’t really know who he was even though everyone has a high opinion of him. For Spyro, he’s been anointed, so to speak, by Eon as this golden child, the chosen one, and we don’t quite understand why. So for Spyro, as foolhardy as he is, he learns his lesson as he goes along in Season 1 and especially in Season 2. He matures and realizes, “I can’t just rely on my talent and good luck to get me out of bad situations.” That’s the kind of hero I always liked, the Luke Skywalker of it all. “I know I’m supposed to be a leader, I know I’m meant for something more, I know I’m gifted, but why is that?”

That’s what I always liked about Spyro. I wanted to write a lead who’s quick with a joke and talky and fun to watch, a really good character to be a foil to Kaos, but at the same time, somebody who starts to think about his purpose in life. “Am I on track? What does Master Eon expect of me?”

Then, in Season 2, we really start to investigate that more. Spyro starts to look inward a lot more and really think about … now that they’ve come together as a team, where is he taking this team? That was a really fun ride for the overall arc this season, for sure.

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Image via Netflix

The phenomenal cast will return for Season 2 along with some surprise additions:

Rogers: We are so lucky to have them. When we started out, we had a wish list for each character, probably three to five names per character. I kid you not, for all the main characters on this show, each one of those people were one of our dream cast people. Ashley Tisdale and Justin Long, and Norm MacDonald, and Jonathan Banks, they were all right there. So every time we got a “Yes”, we were like pinching each other because, “Really? We got these guys? This is going to be intimidating!”

It was insane. Catherine O’Hara, Susan Sarandon … You just don’t expect to be able to assemble a cast like that. And then to one day walk into a recording studio and have these fabulous actors saying your lines, and enjoying what they’re saying, and laughing at the jokes, you really just go, “We got it right.” I still can’t believe how lucky we are with this cast.

Chris Diamantopoulos as Master Eon, and then the supporting cast like John DiMaggio and Grey Griffin, and Rich Horvitz who plays Kaos. The talent for every character … it’s insane. We’re so lucky to have every one of those actors. It’s been a thrill to not only write for them, but to get to know them, as well. It’s been a dream.

And if its guest stars you're interested in:

Rogers: I think we have announced Felicia Day, who was a huge get for us. She’s going to play Cynder on the show. She’s probably the biggest name that we have coming aboard this season that we can announce right now. Grey Griffin, she’s one of our new additions to the cast; she plays Sprocket and Ninjini; she’s a rock star.

Then we have some mysterious characters who will reveal themselves as the season goes on.

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Image via Activision Blizzard, Netflix

Fans of Season 1, like myself, might be wondering if Crash Bandicoot will make another appearance this season:

Rogers: I’m just going to say, “Maybe.”

Here's how Rogers ended up voicing the video game character:

Rogers: It was a lucky thing. We were recording the episode where Crash makes his first appearance. We had not found our actor yet. Sometimes, when you want your animation to stay on track, we’ll do what they call “scratch recordings.” Basically, that’s just me or the director or someone else jumping into the booth and saying the lines, getting the timing of the lines down correctly so we can ship the track off to our animators so they have something to draw and animate to.

What happened with Crash was that we needed to get this track to TeamTO—our animators in Paris. I hopped in the booth and just on a whim started doing this fun, Australian, goofy voice. My wife happens to be Australian, so in my head, a bandicoot is Australian, I know Crash has never spoken before, but bandicoot’s Australian. And a big goofy voice because it should match the character, so I just started doing this goofy Australian accent.

Then, my bosses at Activision Blizzard Studios saw the animatic and heard my voice and were like, “Who’s this?” And then they said, “You should do the voice! You should be Crash Bandicoot!” I tried to talk them out of it, but it ended up being great. I was really happy with the performance. Once we realized I would actually do the voice, we went back into the recording booth and I did it all over again, real serious that time. It was a blast. I appreciated my bosses at Activision Blizzard Studios thinking enough of me to allow me to put the voice to such a great character.

But back to Season 2. Fans were left wondering just what was up between Master Eon and Kaossandra at the end of Season 1. Will the new season explore that mysterious relationship?

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Image via Netflix

Rogers: Absolutely. You will find out more about their history together. We’re definitely going to get into some deeper backstory with every character on this show. Master Eon and Kaossandra’s connection will be unveiled a little bit in a very surprising way. By the end of Season 2, fans are going to be very gratified with the ride they’ve been taken on.

Like I said about Spyro earlier, Season 2 is a lot about these characters kind of looking more inward and asking, “Who am I?” and defining themselves more. So that goes for all of our leads from Spyro, Eruptor, Stealth Elf, Jet-Vac, and Pop Fizz to Eon and Kaossandra, and Kaos especially, too. Kaos and Spyro’s stories parallel each other nicely in Season 2. There’s a lot of introspection and asking, “Who am I? Where am I going? Why am I the way I am? What am I supposed to be?” That was a really fun track to take both those characters down. Maybe those paths will collide in Season 2; we shall see!

Here's what Rogers is most looking forward to seeing this season:

Rogers: We do have some fun episodes and story arcs with everyone. We have Cynder appear; her appearance and her backstory is integral to, not only Spyro’s journey, but overall what’s going to happen in Season 2. Her appearance and her family history have a big role to play in where we’re taking the show. Cynder is a pivotal player. Eon, his relationship with Spyro evolves and also becomes a little complicated. It’s more of a father-son thing, [like], “I have high expectations of you, and when you fail me, you’re not only letting me down, you’re letting down our whole world.” The question Spyro has is, “Why is this so important? Why do you put these expectations on me?” That drives his own personal story and growth this season.

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Image via Activision Blizzard, Netflix

We bring back characters that fans love in Season 1 as well, like Cy, the create-your-own Skylander, played by Dan Middleton. And his master, King Pen, played by the fabulous Daniel Wu. His sensei King Pen is brought back as well. We have a really great story with the two of them that involves a new villain appearance. We have our awesome villains with the Golden Queen and the Doomraiders. At the end of Season 1, you saw a scene where Kaos is in alliance with them; we’re going to see ramifications from that decision and how his mother feels about that and where Glumshanks fits into all this. Is he finally free from being under Kaos’ thumb? What does that mean for him? Can he find true happiness? We play with that a little bit.

We try to service all of our fun characters at least for one episode or two in Season 2. We wanted to give everybody time to shine and I think we pulled that off.

And as if you needed more of a reason to tune in for Season 2, it might help you to know just how much work the Skylanders Academy team have put into the show to give fans the experience they've been waiting for.  

Rogers: I really want everyone to watch Skylanders Academy. We really worked our tails off on it, and Activision Blizzard Studios, and TeamTO, we’ve produced a show that is right up there with anything else on TV in the kids animation space. We couldn’t be more proud of it. It looks fantastic. I think people are going to be blown away by how good it looks on their TV screens. We’re really excited for everyone to see this season and future seasons. It’s a really great series and we’re really proud of what we’ve done. I’m excited for everybody to check it out.

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Image via Activision Blizzard, Netflix