Rebecca Sugar's Return Shows How To Revive A Franchise With Heart

Forbes

29-07-2025

Today, in an era of streaming where multiple franchises are being rebooted and revived seemingly every other week, the challenge for networks isn't creating something new. The real task is convincing audiences to return or revisit franchises they loved and figuring out how to interest them in older content. That's why the recent announcement that the creator of Steven Universe, who previously worked on Adventure Time, is returning to Cartoon Network to help develop the newest installment in the Adventure Time series, the Adventure Time movie, alongside Patrick McHale, creator of Over the Garden Wall, and Adam Muto, creator of Random! Cartoons, all of whom worked on the show's original run.
Before Steven Universe was created, Sugar worked as a storyboard artist and writer for Adventure Time, contributing to some of the show's most memorable and emotional episodes, including "Simon & Marcy," "I Remember You," and "Be More," which were storyboarded, written by, or co-written with Sugar.
Having won an Emmy for the Adventure Time episode, 'It Came from the Nightosphere,' Sugar is more than just a fan favorite. Through storyboarding, animation, singing, and songwriting, Sugar is a creative force of nature that has left an emotional legacy ingrained in Adventure Time and Cartoon Network. Unlike other franchises that keep producing soulless content just to give viewers something to watch, Sugar stands out with originality, creativity, and the trust of the audience who believe what they see is heartfelt.
In an era of remakes, reboots, and unnecessary continuations, viewers worry whether their favorite franchises can end on a high note. The threat is constant that it might come back to tell one more pointless story that ruins what was already established or doesn't add anything and is just a cash grab. For example, some of Cartoon Network's other revival attempts, like The Powerpuff Girls Reboot or Velma, have shown that nostalgia isn't enough to keep a series alive. Fans don't just want to engage with an IP because it's an extension of something they used to love; they want it to be good and to see why the series was continued in the first place.
Sugar, who is no stranger to sequel series, continued their story in Steven Universe: Future, which aired after the successful Steven Universe Movie. Fans got to see the aftermath of Steven's adventures from both the show and the movie, and how he needed to move on and look toward the future despite everything that happened. The show felt like a proper sendoff to Steven as a character. It served as a love letter to fans for sticking with him through everything over the years and watching him grow, addressing all that he had been through with proper healing and care, which resonated with fans for their healing journeys through trauma. That's why many fans celebrated when Sugar was announced as part of the team leading the Adventure Time film, because she showed that characters, even fictional ones, can grow and tell compelling stories that leave you wanting more, even if the story has a definitive ending.
In subtle ways, Sugar's return to Adventure Time echoes the sentiment of one of their most memorable songs from the series: 'Everything stays, right where you left it. Everything stays, but it still changes. Ever so slightly, daily and nightly, in little ways, everything stays.' And, in a way, it reflects the Adventure Time franchise, which remains here after all these years, waiting for us to return and see how it's changed.