The “ThunderCats” reboot has begun airing on Cartoon Network, bringing back the iconic characters with a new twist. Will Friedle of “Boys Meets World” voices Lion-O, and as someone who was a big fan of the '80s show, he sounds thrilled to be involved.

Speaking with Newsarama, he said, “I think it's been 20, 25 years, the characters are still vibrant, and still iconic, and I think enough time has passed now to where some of the original fans might have accepted a new version a little bit easier than had they done it five years after the show had ended.”

Friedle also believes this “ThunderCats” can be darker than the original, and that more people would be accepting of that. He credits the dark cartoon “Batman: The Animated Series” for this change.

He did admit some trepidation in bringing back a beloved franchise, because making reboots can sometimes be controversial. “We were obviously worried, because the last thing we want to do — especially as fans — is go in and ruin these iconic characters,” he said. “We knew we were taking a risk with the new angle. So we were very excited that the fans seemed to accept it, and really seem to like it, and want to see what happens next.”

Friedle spoke about his character, Terry, from “Batman Beyond,” and how he’s similar and different from Lion-O. “I think Terry had a much darker side to him, whereas Lion-O, especially in the first 35 minutes of the pilot, was really kind of the happy go-lucky kid,” he said. “If memory serves, the first time we ever meet Terry, he's in a fist fight in gym class, whereas Lion-O is more of the type of guy who wants to make everything better, and is a prince, but wide-eyed, and still believing in fantasy, and still believing that there's this mythical tech out there.”

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