The 10th anniversary event for DOFUS – Book 1: Julith was far more than just a nostalgic moment. Between confessions, announcements, and future plans, Ankama used the occasion to outline its animation roadmap for the coming years. The film served as a cornerstone for a broader discussion about the future of the animated Krosmoz universe.
The watch party was structured around three main sequences that complemented each other. It began with a pre-show on set, where ToT, Kuri, and Poupik revisited the origins of the film. They shared how the idea for a feature-length movie emerged as a continuation of Wakfu, the unique challenges of cinema, and the years of work leading up to its theatrical release.
The heart of the evening was, of course, the full re-broadcast of DOFUS – Book 1: Julith on YouTube, offered for free to mark this symbolic anniversary. A decade after its release, the film retained all its visual power, especially in the grand final battle sequence, often cited by the team as one of their favorite moments.
Finally, a long late-show took over, designed as an open discussion with the audience. This was when things really took off. The exchanges between the panel and viewers, fueled by countless messages in the chat, brought the most anticipated questions to the forefront. It was in this final segment, enriched in real time by audience input, that most of the major announcements were made.
DOFUS – Book 2: A Project on Hold, Not an Abandoned Idea
One of the most pressing questions naturally concerned a potential DOFUS – Book 2. ToT didn’t beat around the bush: the desire to continue the story has never really left him. The original film was conceived as the first installment of a trilogy, with the idea of exploring two Dofus per feature film and gradually expanding Joris’s family, such as introducing his grandmother.
Yet, despite this initial plan, no Book 2 is currently in production. The reasons are both practical and emotional. The 2016 release was particularly tough: the film hit theaters just after the Bataclan attacks, with a stadium destruction scene that painfully echoed current events. This was compounded by a disastrous launch, marked by an age restriction deemed excessive, a collapse in the number of screenings—initially planned for around 300 theaters, but ultimately reduced to just 70—and massive piracy upon release. The film’s image was judged “not cool enough” by some players, and the difficulty in reaching a wider audience further doomed its success. For the team, this combination of factors was experienced as a genuine shock, and revisiting a project so directly associated with this failure, even ten years later, remains a significant burden.
Kuri begins by saying there’s nothing to regret, even if some choices were difficult. The idea of “changing the release date” is mentioned jokingly, but they quickly emphasize the spontaneity of creative decisions. According to them, trying to rewrite history makes little sense: a project is born from a specific mindset at a given moment. Attempting to recreate that same spirit years later would yield nothing genuine. Technically, Ankama tested a hybrid approach, where each shot was handled by a duo consisting of a traditional animator and a Flash animator. This method preserved the richness of hand-drawn animation while benefiting from the flexibility of digital tools, and it heavily influenced the visual style of Wakfu seasons 3 and 4.
The discussion then shifts to how Ankama operates. ToT reminds everyone that the company is independent, not publicly traded, and without major investors. This means great freedom, but also constant risk-taking. They describe themselves as “bulldozers,” sometimes “a bit foolish,” who keep moving forward, accumulating experiences, successes, and failures. They admit to making “lots of mistakes,” but explain that they simply don’t have time to dwell on them, as they’re already absorbed by the next projects.
Poupik emphasizes the “heart” of the teams. According to her, there are passionate people facing passionate people: the desire to “blow the audience’s mind” is what drives the studio to keep going, despite the setbacks. Kuri points out that the public only sees the tip of the iceberg: the completed projects. Behind the scenes, many concepts remain stalled, not mature enough or set aside for various reasons, perhaps to resurface one day.
ToT jokes: “Tomorrow, if I win the lottery, we’re definitely making a sequel.” Beneath the humor, it’s clear that the future of Julith depends mainly on securing substantial financial resources.
To give an idea of the film’s production scale: the answer is clear—between 6 and 7 million euros were invested in production. Additionally, the marketing budget was initially estimated at 150,000–200,000 euros, but Poupik later revised this upward, specifying that Ankama contributed part of this amount “out of pocket,” supplemented by partners. Still, they stress that for a feature film, these are limited resources.
Where the discussion becomes truly interesting is when they address criticisms like “there should have been more marketing.” According to them, the campaign was far from timid: it included coverage in numerous media outlets, various projects, multiple premieres, and even a large village set up in Lille’s main square. In their view, they would do exactly the same thing today. Ankama doesn’t “do marketing for marketing’s sake”: the studio stands by communication actions and products it genuinely believes in, things they want to have at home, things they themselves want to watch.
Poupik shared an anecdote about creating real Lutti candies featuring Dofus characters, after a factory visit and the on-site production of 3D molds, in an atmosphere reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For his part, ToT discussed the personal inspiration behind Kerubim and Atcham: the contrast between his two cats, a fluffy Persian and a clingy Sphynx, and mentioned another intimate scene that particularly moved ToT: the moment when Jojo calls his grandfather an “old wreck,” drawn from a painful childhood memory.
Finally, a few lighter anecdotes punctuated the discussion, such as a security guard convinced the offices were haunted due to voices heard at night, which turned out to be ToT’s television at a neighbor’s place.
Kuri, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of DOFUS – Book 1: Julith, explains why remaking the film identically today is impossible. Ten years have passed, everyone has matured, with a sharper and less naive perspective on the project. Making a feature film remains the Holy Grail for animators, but the experience was also painful, marked by high expectations and a sense of disappointment after its release.
The film also provided an opportunity to collaborate with notable figures in animation. Lead animator Yoshimichi Tamura, for example, is cited as one of the key figures of the project; an amusing detail mentioned during the evening recalls that his father founded the first aikido federation in France. The voice actors recorded their lines directly in Roubaix, at Ankama’s studios, and their sessions were filmed to help animators fine-tune the characters’ expressions and acting.
On a practical level, Ankama also explains that its schedule is fully booked for several years. Even an immediate decision wouldn’t allow production to start for another four or five years, as current series need to be completed first. The door isn’t closed, however. ToT believes that a successful crowdfunding campaign, similar to the one that saved Wakfu season 3, could serve as leverage to convince a distributor and secure the necessary funding. Thus, it’s less a definitive impossibility than a distant horizon, contingent on both team availability and strong public mobilization.
WELSH & SHEDAR
While Book 2 remains hypothetical, the evening primarily highlighted another project directly tied to the film’s universe: Welsh & Shedar. This new series takes place about forty to fifty years after the events of DOFUS and follows the journey of Welsh, a sixteen-year-old cook. On his birthday, he discovers he is actually the heir to the throne of Bonta, pulling him away from his kitchen and thrusting him into much broader political and personal stakes.
The series’ originality lies in its culinary focus. Each episode will feature a real recipe, often inspired by Northern French cuisine. To enable the Japanese studio handling the animation to faithfully reproduce these dishes, ToT himself filmed the cooking preparations, which then served as references for the animators. This blend of everyday life, local culture, and fantasy is quintessentially Ankama. For readers wanting to delve deeper, a recap article dedicated to the series is already available on Krozmotion, with more details on its production and universe.
Welshedar is being produced in Japan, with character design by Nakashiki and an external animation team chosen for both their mastery of traditional drawing and their ability to adopt an anime-like tone. Ankama, however, emphasizes continuity in writing: the script is developed in-house, ensuring consistency with the rest of the Krosmoz universe. The series is scheduled for release in late 2026, as part of the studio’s 25th anniversary.
Even though Welsh & Shedar doesn’t directly recycle the abandoned Book 2 script, the series is designed to extend the film’s legacy. Some ideas intended for the original trilogy are reinterpreted or hinted at, and a few lore connections will allow viewers to bridge the two works.
Wakfu, the Final Season of the Series
The other major announcement of the evening concerns Wakfu season 5. The team confirmed it outright: this season will be the last of the TV series. The stated goal is to conclude the story in a satisfying way, pushing further than season 4 in both visual and narrative terms.
At the time of the watch party, more than half of the season was already written and storyboarded, and several episodes were in animation production. The chosen format—twenty-six episodes—allows for the scope of the early seasons, while benefiting from the experience gained from tighter arcs. The background teams are again working at a very high level, aiming to surpass even the acclaimed environments of season 4. Kuri mentions animation quotas approaching those of a feature film, indicating that Ankama wants to make this final season a kind of grand finale.
Narratively, season 5 promises more confrontations, monsters, and intense emotional moments. ToT speaks of an emotional climax, while staying true to the series’ usual tone, balancing humor, adventure, and drama. The release is currently targeted for 2027, with France Télévisions as the historic partner and main broadcaster in France. No global platform has been announced yet.
In passing, ToT also confides that he is considering a Wakfu film for after season 5, with a darker tone and a treatment designed for the big screen. This is not yet a formally launched project, but rather a perspective the studio is keeping in mind.
Waven and the Manga The Great Wave, the Other Side of the Krosmoz
Beyond Wakfu, Ankama is already preparing the transition to Waven, a new animated series conceived as a kind of reboot without denying what came before. Waven builds on the narrative foundations established by the games and Wakfu, but seeks to introduce a new entry point into the universe, for both old and new audiences. Like the video game, it has also struggled to attract a new audience. Find out more about the Waven series in an upcoming recap article on what we know and what remains to be confirmed about the series.
Between these, the manga series Wakfu – The Great Wave serves as a bridge. Volume 3 has just been finalized and is set for release in April; the series will total seven volumes. On the official timeline, The Great Wave is set after Wakfu season 5 and before Waven, making it a crucial link for understanding certain developments in the universe. Ankama presents it as a central piece of the overall narrative, even if not all viewers will go through the manga.
Morchiken, Ankama’s Animated Lab
The evening also provided an update on Morshiken, a unique project in Ankama’s galaxy. Originally, it was simply a pedagogical exercise for animation apprentices: fifteen students, selected from the best talents across eleven e-artsup campuses, were integrated full-time into a dedicated space within Ankama Animation. They participated in all stages of creation—storyboarding, character design, compositing, backgrounds, scriptwriting—and even benefited from a writing workshop with ToT himself. Over the sessions, the teams became fully invested and produced a genuine ten-minute pilot episode, premiered at the Annecy Festival in June 2025, entirely focused on the studio’s behind-the-scenes and a very meta humor.
The series is now envisioned as a future mini-series of thirteen ten-minute episodes, released for free on YouTube, without broadcaster pressure or major financial stakes. This positioning allows the artists to be more daring, experiment with irreverent ideas, and speak candidly about the daily realities of production. However, the priority remains Wakfu season 5, which explains the lack of a precise schedule—no official date has been set beyond a likely 2025 release. The goal is to release several episodes of Morshiken before S5, offering a breath of fresh air amid the major projects.
For more on Morshiken, its characters, and its plot, we have a comprehensive recap article dedicated on Krozmotion. Feel free to read it to learn more about the series.
Princesse Dragon, Princesse Reinette, and Physical Media
On the feature film front, the universe of Princesse Dragon hasn’t been forgotten. A new film set in the same world, tentatively titled Princesse Reinette, is in development. Again, no date has been given; ToT acknowledges juggling numerous projects, some already public and others still confidential, making any announcement premature.
In parallel, Ankama is working on bringing back DVDs and Blu-rays for its animated productions. The goal is to offer physical editions of DOFUS – Book 1: Julith, Princesse Dragon, and other series or films within the year, sold primarily via the Ankama Shop. Princesse Dragon has never had a DVD or Blu-ray release, and the film isn’t even available on legal streaming platforms, making this announcement particularly anticipated. For a studio addressing an audience attached to collectibles, artbooks, and special editions, this return to physical media aligns with what the community has long been asking for.
A Year of Events for the 25th Anniversary, with an Ankama Convention at Japan Expo
The watch party also served as a springboard to announce the event program for the coming years. 2026 will mark both the 10th anniversary of the Dofus film and Ankama’s 25th anniversary, and the studio intends to celebrate in person.
Among the highlights, the most notable is the confirmation of an Ankama Convention within Japan Expo Paris. The idea is to have a dedicated space, designed as a mini-convention within the festival, rather than just a simple booth. The team emphasizes that attendees should pay close attention to ticketing, as the ambition for this strong comeback seems high. Other appearances are planned, including Polymanga in Switzerland and various events in Northern France, to bring the studio closer to its community across several regions.
In terms of production, ToT sums up the strategy with a simple line: aim for at least one major series or mini-series per year, alternating between long formats like Wakfu and shorter formats like Lance-Dur or Bestiale. Welshedar in 2026, Wakfu season 5 in 2027, and Waven afterward fit precisely into this logic.
In the end, this anniversary event showed a studio that doesn’t just celebrate its past, but uses it as a springboard. Ten years after the release of a film harshly judged at the time, Ankama embraces its legacy, claims what it brought artistically, and prepares new stories that extend its themes.
If all these announcements could be captured, translated, and put into perspective, it’s largely thanks to the work of fans present during the live streams. Messages in the chat served as a relay between the panel and the international community, asking the right questions at the right time. On this point, special recognition must go to the Discord server “Krosmoz Fans United” and Uelman, who compiled, organized, and shared information throughout the evening. Without this volunteer work, many of these details would have been lost in the live stream.
From here, the ball is now in both Ankama’s and the fans’ court. The coming years will tell if this momentum, born around a long-underrated film, can lead to a new animated chapter of Dofus on the big screen. 👍
Throughout the year, it will be possible to follow this evolving story through recap articles dedicated to Ankama Animations’ upcoming series. These articles will help keep an eye on what’s coming, what’s changing, and how the studio continues to explore its Krosmoz on screen. In parallel, a series of “Once Upon a Time” texts will revisit these abandoned, reworked, or never-released projects that fill Ankama’s drawers. A first comprehensive article on Kwaan has been available since January, and another on Wakfu Raiders, equally interesting, offers a precious window into these detours the studio has taken and then left behind.
Seeing Ankama try, attempt, and take risks is ultimately good news for its fans: it means there are still stories to tell, and the legend of the Krosmoz isn’t just going in circles.
