Almost a year ago, HBO Max gave the green light to four Adventure Time specials, which pick up after the cataclysmic series finale and continue to explore the Land of Ooo and beyond. In June, Adventure Time: Distant Lands - BMO took everyone’s favorite robot companion on its own adventure through the cosmos. The second installment has even higher stakes.
Obsidian, which premieres this Thursday, Nov. 19, focuses on Marceline and Bubblegum, and what happened after their relationship became overtly romantic. Fans who thought the finale shortchanged the longtime ship will get a look at the full span of “Bubbline,” as the special promises to act as both a prequel and sequel to the original series.
The new Distant Lands special also introduces us to the Glass Kingdom, a fragile, far-off locale where Marceline and Bubblegum have history — and not a particularly good one. But the legends remember the moment fondly: In the first four minutes of Obsidian, which Polygon is exclusively premiering above, we learn that Marceline once ventured into the Glass Kingdom to vanquish the dragon Molto Larvo with a rage-filled song. That Hobbit-like tale is the lifeblood of a new character, Glass Boy, who is at the center of the opening scenes. Over 45 minutes, the special connects all the shards of the past and present in true Adventure Time fashion.
“Spiritually, obsidian can be protective and absorb negativity,” executive producer Adam Muto said of the title’s meaning during the show’s 2020 SDCC panel, “but it can also be weaponized as an actual material. [The special] kinda has those elements to it. Not a perfect metaphor, but a metaphor.”
Watch the new clip of Adventure Time: Distant Lands - Obsidian above. And look out for the next two installments, Wizard City, which “follows Peppermint Butler, starting over at the beginning, as just another inexperienced Wizard School student,” and Together Again, which brings Finn and Jake together “to rediscover their brotherly bond and embark on the most important adventure of their lives,” in 2021.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19991762/HBO_Max_Press_On_White_Horiz_300dpi_0.jpg)
HBO Max
- $15
Prices taken at time of publishing.
On top of new WB releases in 2021, HBO Max brings together HBO, DC , Cartoon Network, and Criterion libraries.
Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.
