A full-length animated feature film, Baahubali: The Eternal War, set in the Baahubali universe, is in the works, producer Shobu Yarlagadda announced on Thursday.
Sharing the news about the animated feature, Yarlagadda wrote on X, “I am thrilled to finally share something we have been working on in stealth for nearly two years with talented animation filmmaker @_Ishan_Shukla. This fantastic film project, based in the #Baahubali universe, will set up the @BaahubaliMovie franchise for its next phase.”
The post was accompanied by a short video of S.S. Rajamouli discussing the project with lead actors Prabhas and Rana Daggubati.
“@arkamediaworks is producing the two-part stylised 3D animation film "Baahubali—The Eternal War" in collaboration with Indian and international studios and creative teams. Our vision is to offer the first-of-its-kind animation film from India,” he added.
Yarlagadda further revealed that a teaser has been attached to #BaahubaliTheEpic, which is currently running in theatres, allowing audiences to experience it on the big screen first.
Baahubali: The Epic is a re-edited version of S.S. Rajamouli’s two-film series Baahubali. It hit screens Friday.
“We will release the teaser online, first-look poster, and full details on the project, including the creative and technical teams and studios working on this ambitious project, next week. Stay tuned,” he signed off.
In a recent interview with NDTV Movies, filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli clarified that this isn’t Baahubali 3—at least, not yet. He explained that Baahubali: The Eternal War is a full-length animated film set in the same universe, offering a new story while retaining the essence of the beloved characters.
Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion have been re-edited as a single film titled Baahubali: The Epic to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the franchise.
The three-hour-45-minute-long movie is being screened in multiple languages in both India and the US.
Directed by S. S. Rajamouli, Baahubali: The Beginning features Prabhas in a dual role alongside Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishna, Sathyaraj, Nassar and Tamannaah. It is the first film of the duology that concludes with Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.
A major portion of the love story between Prabhas’s Shiva and Tamannaah Bhatia’s Avanthika has been trimmed from Baahubali: The Epic, said director S.S. Rajamouli in a recent interview.
The 52-year-old filmmaker also added that three songs — Pacha Bottasi, Kannaa Nidurinchara, and Manohari — were also removed from the film to reduce the runtime from 5 hours 27 minutes to 3 minutes 43 seconds.
The film follows Shiva (Prabhas), an adventurous young man who assists his love Avanthika (Tamannaah) in rescuing Devasena (Anushka), the former queen of Mahishmati from the tyrannical rule of King Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubati). The story was continued in the second instalment.
Baahubali 2 focusses on the rivalry between siblings Amarendra Baahubali (Prabhas) and Bhallaladeva (Daggubati). Bhallaladeva schemes against Amarendra, leading to his death at the hands of Kattappa. Years later, Amarendra's son (Sivudu) resolves to avenge his father's death.
Released theatrically on 10 July, 2015, Baahubali: The Beginning emerged as the highest-grossing Telugu film of the year, earning Rs 650 crore gross worldwide, according to trade reports.
Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) are stitched together into one epic saga of power play, jealousy and revenge in the re-edited version.