Get An Exclusive Look At Netflix's New Warrior Princess Kids' Show Maya and the Three

On Oct. 22, Netflix will premiere an exciting new mini-series called Maya and the Three, a supernatural adventure story from the imagination of Jorge R. Gutiérrez, creator of El Tigre and The Book of Life. Maya and the Three takes place in a fantasy world inspired by a whimsical blend of Aztec, Maya, and Inca mythology and contemporary Caribbean culture with a cast of memorable, heartfelt, and humorous characters.

Princess Maya is brave, rebellious warrior, getting ready to celebrate her 15th birthday and coronation. But plans go awry when the dark and powerful gods of the Underworld inform Maya that her life belongs to Lord Mictlan, the God of War, and will be sacrificed as payment for her family’s past misdeeds. Refusal will mean the whole world will suffer the wrath of the gods... that is unless Maya can fulfill an ancient prophecy that foretells of great warriors — Picchu the Puma Barbarian, Rico the Rooster Wizard, and Chimi the Skull Warrior — who will join her to defeat the gods and restore balance to the world.

Sounds exciting, right? Check out Romper’s exclusive sneak peek below, in which Maya and Rico meet Cabra Can (Dany Trejo), god of earthquakes, and Cipactli (Rosie Perez), goddess of alligators.

The nine-episode series features a celebrity-packed cast, including Zoe Saldaña, Allen Maldonado, Stephanie Beatriz, Gabriel Iglesias, Diego Luna, Queen Latifah, Wyclef Jean, Rita Moreno, and many more. In an interview with Collider, Gutiérrez likened Maya to The Lord of the Rings – one cohesive story told in pieces — but inspired by cultures and mythologies that are not often explored in realms found in the fantasy genre, which tend to be modeled after Medieval Europe.

“I always kept going, ‘Man, if the camera would go south, I bet it would get to people that look like us, right?’” he told Collider. “All those kingdoms, all that magic, all those mythologies are right there and we never get to see them. So for me, it was ‘Wow. If we don't tell these stories, if we don't tell these tales, it's like we don't exist. And if we don't exist in fantasy, then there's no magic in us.’ So that became a motivation.”

Recently, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Gutiérrez described the series as “hyper, hyper, hyper love letter to Mexican culture and to the ancient culture of Mesoamerica, the Caribbean and a little bit of South American culture.”

Maya and the Three, rated TV-Y7, will premiere on Netflix on Oct. 22.