It's a generic term! A designation for a group of things. Those things, it's all that happened between the end of Code Lyoko and the outset of Code Lyoko Evolution. So well, in this file, of course we're broadening it a bit. Code Lyoko Reloaded isn't the name of ALL that you're gonna find here. In the file, we are covering everything that went on since the the final episode of the fourth season of Code Lyoko: episode 95 “Echoes” on the 10th of November 2007, and the beginning of Code Lyoko Evolution. Code Lyoko Reloaded isn't about the whole period but it sure is a big part of it!
Last question then: as a good fan, why does Code Lyoko Reloaded sound meaningless to my ears? Well that's because among all the information that we present to you here, only some of it has been released. A lot of it came from some project presentation PDFs edited by Moonscoop, which has rarely been transmitted -if at all-!
It is therefore a huge compilation and research work that CodeLyoko.fr is displaying to you here. Realised for the first time and unprecedented in the Lyoko-Sphere, voilà a vast dossier about Code Lyoko Reloaded!
With the excitement, the end of the fourth season brought with it a crowd of questions. The fan community knew all along that fourth season would have a “true ending”... Meaning the fourth season could be the last of the show. Sophie Decroisette has specified that she wasn't against a continuation but the ending would have a independent and real ending. From then on, the question of a fifth part remained pending...within Moonscoop just as among fans...
Even before the broadcast of the episodes, the question was on many lips... The omen wasn't for the best since a disagreement broke out between Moonscoop and Cartoon Network even before the end of Season 4 in USA... and the episodes coming after episode 88 were never broadcast on the channel... but on Kabillion, weeks after.
So the fourth season ends.
At a first step, Sophie Decroisette, writing director of seasons 1 to 3, who stayed for long the referent in term of information about the lobbying of the show, is curt: there won't be any fifth season of Code Lyoko. In the wings, she mentions nevertheless some debates about a project to give us more information about the back-story: the story of Franz Hopper! But nothing will be animated... [News from the 15th of November 2007]
From then on, a heavy radio silence!
Sudden development in early February 2008, months after the end of the show! A big update reverberates like thunder among the community! [News from the 2nd of February 2008]
CodeLyoko.com, official website of the show, announce the upcoming of a “Code Lyoko Movie Special” on Kabillion! The event seems huge since the announcement is broadcast on the 3 versions of the website (English/French/Spanish). Going along with the announcement, A countdown is set for a 5-day period! Unfortunately, the bigger the wait is, the bigger the deception can be. Very quickly and before the end of the countdown, we learn that this Movie Special is nothing but the well-known prequel episode “XANA Awakens”... already aired many times and long ago on our screens...
A nice false hope in hindsight!
By the time, Nicolas Atlan, executive producer of the show, appears on Kabilion forum to make some announcements! [News from 8th of February 2008]
Two principal lines: first, season 5 is out of time due to a lack of negotiations with channels France 3 and Cartoon Network. Then, other projects are effectively in preparation, particularly 3 full-length films, 70 minutes long each that would come back to Franz Hopper's story, the much talked about back-story. These tree feature-lengths would be accompanied by books.
Enough to give a bit of hope to the fans, especially the ones disappointed by he end of season 4.
Sadly, when the countdown numbers on CodeLyoko.com come to zero, nothing gigantic. XANA Awakens, old bonus videos known for a while but re-dubbed from French to English (the race between Odd and Ulrich, for example), already-known concept art...
But in the middle of this mess lie a few pictures...and behind those pictures a link is hiding, a link to a quite...astonishing video! The video contains nothing exclusive but presents an unprecedented logo... Code Lyoko Reloaded is born!
Moving towards Code Lyoko Reloaded
Back to silence. Is Code Lyoko Reloaded a simple little logo meant to be pretty?
Well, nope! On the 20th of October 2008 a presentation PDF about Code Lyoko Reloaded appears on Moonscoop's site... To put this in context, the section it appears in is a professional-only part of the website. So this PDF is a promotional document that wasn't especially meant to be read by the fans! Subsequently, it will be often the case. What does it reveal to us?
Its contents appears to be extremely ambitious... Code Lyoko Reloaded becomes a term gathering together many projects willing to develop the Code Lyoko license. At the end, this PDF went quite unnoticed comparing to the buzz it could have caused! And with hindsight, it becomes quite disappointing since only a few of the projects it presented led to something.
Among the novelties proposed in the PDF:
One of them is the one that worked the best (in Spain and Italy, in spite of a commercial failure in France) is the Code Lyoko Chronicles. It's a series of 4 novels supposed to fill the storyline vacuum left after the end of the fourth season. These novels have a peculiar story since they've been produced in Italy first. Then in Spain where they hit charts. Then they came to France but only two of them were published for lack of success. They were never released in English. For more information, head over to the Code Lyoko Chronicles section!
The PDF also reminded readers of the existence of the partnership with Futuroscope which contains within it a Code Lyoko attraction.
And at last but not least, an element that should have drawn our attention more at the time: the mention of a possible possible new series with some live action with the remodelling of the 3D-CGI. This expression, that didn't mean much to us at the time, was well and truly the very first historical mentioning of the project that was going to become Code Lyoko Evolution... But we didn't know that...
The PDF presents nevertheless other projects that had to be aborted:
A whole new panoply of new related products for 8- to 12-year-old kids.
A vast update of CodeLyoko.com was due. A new version of the website, with a whole new design, was announced for 2008 (permitting an affiliation of the fan-sites and offering mini-games, a forum, an online shop...) along with a extension. That last one was supposed to add especially two things. The first is the association with a webTV with VOD (for 2009). The second would be the video game "Lyoko Online" (intended for 2010). The official website would've been the welcome gate for that game. Never heard anything of it.
Another consequent project was mentioned: a Code Lyoko MMORPG, realised by "CJ Internet"! We'd have details about it later...
What should we retain from this PDF? With some hindsight, it's easy of course. We have there a first glance of a possible future for the show mixing live action and 3D. First serious theory of a possible sequel. Other than that, many projects. Promising ones, like the Chronicles. And others that we will never see coming out like the MMORPG.
Page 02 to 12: Code Lyoko, synopsis, presentation of the main characters and Code Lyoko world.
Page 13 to 20: Properties and credits (Exportation of the show, partners & marketing, Moonscoop channels and websites, Futuroscope attractions) Page 21 to 28 : Code Lyoko Reloaded!
Targeted audience
Related products tied to Code Lyoko Reloaded with: Code Lyoko Chronicles, Project of the expansion of the official website and the adding of a “webTV” plus a "Code Lyoko Online", a Code Lyoko MMORPG...
And a certain new series with live action... Well, well...
Two new PDFs... but Reloaded shuffles around...
From then on, information become increasingly rare. The Code lyoko presentation PDF on Moonscoop's website doesn't update for anything other than pages about exportation and audience! Indeed, the backdoor work is discreet but first and foremost Code Lyoko isn't over cutting its teeth: the licence is exporting itself. Unfortunately, no news on Reloaded side.
A significant update of the PDF has yet revealed some advances of the notorious MMORPG! It's developed by a Korean producer and presents some...more or less comforting sketches...
Why don't we hear about it anymore these days? Well that's another story!
Another PDF also reminds us that the licence is doing well in Spain!
The Spanish buy the rights to Code Lyoko, broadcast the show...and enjoy themselves! An unprecedented range of Code Lyoko-related products comes out! Some very useful (translated Chronicles, figurines from the show), and others more accessories...
Following the related products, a musical is scheduled! It will be named "La memoria perdita". The show go on a few times. The dubbing actors participated whereas the fans were dancing.
Other event: a vast fan event was organised in Madrid on April the 2nd in 2011.
On the programme, cosplay for the young fans, dedication with Tania Palumbo, the artistic director and original creator of Code Lyoko, with Thomas Romain. Big quiz and gifts at the end for everyone!
You can find a video report about that fan event in our "Media" section!(Hey yeah, everything is on CodeLyoko.fr)
What? You want to see the masks up close? Not a problem!
But the Iberians don't stop there.
Last significant fact, special episodes are created: from the existing scenes of the show, re-dubbed by the Spanish dubbing actors, twelve 10-minute episodes are created, with classic themes (the characters, XANA attacks, etc.) and Jeremy giving explanations about it. Nothing exclusive, really. The typical structure of an episode contains a few re-dubbed scenes, some already-known scenes with music overlayed and some Code Lyoko episode extracts, as it stands.
This ensemble was called "Codigo Lyoko : Plus" or "Los archivos de Jeremy"
See an episode for a glimpse!
2011: hope rises with a new PDF
All these events in Spain are not what the French has focused on the most however. 2010 was the critical year for the community. The one year that the monotonous Big Break made that a lot of the fans were less active on the web.
Yet it it that year that the relaunch of the show has been announced by the persons in charge and not only sketched in PDF this time! In July 2010, Moonscoop officially answers the fans' rant for the first time: it's the famous email "Without you, Code Lyoko would not be Code Lyoko". The fact that the channels were requested is confirmed and they say that thanks to the fan community fervour, a new season of Code Lyoko would perhaps be realised.
Big paradox again, the announcement have not had the anticipated impact! Admittedly, a lot of people hear about it. But without anything concrete to go along with the announcement and considering the silence that followed, the fervour fell as fast as it came up... So you have to look at the evidence: the years 2009/2010 will remain sad and flat years for the community!
The end of year 2011 was the one of the relaunch... but it has been developed in the following settings. Still in our "Code Lyoko Reloaded" theme, we are rather going to discuss a new version of the presentation PDF by Moonscoop, that came out in the beginning of 2011 and which totally went unnoticed in spite of its contents, which were very rich in possibility and revelations!
But for cause... It stayed online only two days and nobody really noticed it (except our Dude Dudu!).
This PDF contains the prequel of Code Lyoko Evolution! It also presents nevertheless all the potential leads for the series future!
First project: “Code Lyoko The Legacy”
This sketch of project would take place immediately after the end of the season 4. XANA was destroyed, the Supercomputer was destroyed and our heroes are getting ready to return to their life in the Virtual World... But are they really capable of it?
Enough to tease and tempt...
Second project: “Code Lyoko Reloaded: New Era”
This time, it's two years after the shutting down of the Supercomputer that we would have found our heroes. They are from now in high school and almost found a normal life... But an organisation shows up and restarts the notorious “Project Carthage”! This organisation wakes a new version of XANA, controllable and capable of speaking! In these conditions, is Aelita still the Virtual Guardian of the Virtual World? While Jeremy is alerted by the threat, men in black roam around Kadic and try to kidnap Aelita. The Heroes are going to have to gather together again to face this threat!
The PDF nevertheless suggests that those first two projects would have been able to be parts of the third project, making of Code Lyoko Reloaded a whole!
Last project: “CL Reloaded: The Live-action/3D Révolution”
This project is more harnessed. You'd guess it, it is about the preliminary draft of Code Lyoko Evolution.
The PDF explains that the 2D is abandoned for the benefit of live action. The new 3D-CGI is also announced with new costumes and accessories. The objectives are clear: Make the series more modern and to strengthen the attachment of the fans in the series by adding the human dimension of the actors which will favour the assimilation of the fans to the characters. It would actually be about a more contemporary version (presence of tablets, recent mobiles, etc. in everyday life).
Pages presenting this project include photos of everything and anything (possible scenery etc.).
We can also find in this PDF a page for each character where there are their season 4 outfits and what they would possibly look like in Reloaded. Believe me: you have to see this! >.....<
The end of this PDF shows pictures of what could be the actual adaptations of accessories and places once in 2D. These are images taken quite randomly, without much consistency! Some places introduced are unknown, such as "the government."
In short, this PDF was a huge draft of the outcome of Code Lyoko Reloaded: what would become Code Lyoko Evolution. It has never yet been either known or rumoured.
1. Code Lyoko Reloaded: The Legacy (Page 03) 2. Code Lyoko Reloaded: New Era (Page 4) 3. Code Lyoko Reloaded, the Live-action/3D Revolution (Page 05 to 06) 4. Code Lyoko Reloaded, the new stakes (Page 07) 5. Characters (Page 08 to 13) 6. The visual atmospheres (Page 14 to 19)
Another funny trivia, 02 April 2011, a newspaper article mentioned a season 5 of Code Lyoko. The Lyokofan community misses this article and the information is not spread! The article has not been rediscovered until months later, when it had nothing more to make us aware about!
On May the 31st 2011, it is finally official. Moonscoop confirmed via its official Code Lyoko Facebook the imminent arrival of Code Lyoko Evolution, including the replacement of 2D scenes by real live action scenes!
2012: Reloaded became Evolution!
The failed PDF of 2011 could have made a lot of noise! But it didn't. It was for the best in the end, because Code Lyoko has really come back, as you can see with the announcement in May 2011. The last part of the file talks about publicised events in the community, but also other things.
The big difference is that the community had awaken gradually and the CodeLyoko.fr team was finally there, in its entirety. Therefore, if the news between 2007 and 2011 came in silence, the news of 2012 were more read and heard.
At the end of 2011, there were negotiations between Moonscoop and television channels. Two directors were hired, and the work on the synopsis for the new series had begun. In the same time, CodeLyoko.fr and Moonscoop set up their partnership.
In January 2012, editors and writers had begun their work in secret on Code Lyoko Evolution. The creation of animated scenes in 3D had followed a short time after.
On February the 3rd 2012, there was a lot of noise about it. The auditions were announced. The CodeLyoko Evolution logo was shown. On February 6, the auditions were launched, and the site CodeLyoko.com is reopened. The day after, France 4 and Canal J published some advertisements about the auditions. On March 22 in 2012, Moonscoop announced that the auditions will go on, in order to find the actress for Yumi. It had ended finally on March 26 in 2012 for the main characters. Mélanie had been chosen to play Yumi on April 1 in 2012!
Canal J trailer
In April 2012, there was a big mistake. On Moonscoop's website, the fans discovered a new PDF which presented Code Lyoko and Code Lyoko Evolution for MIPTV. A lot information on the future series was revealed. It also showed some images of the evolution of the 3D-CGI, about the script, etc... Moonscoop had removed the PDF quickly, but it was too late!
Today, we can see that some informations from this PDF were true, except for the details about the new bad guy, "Alan Meyer", that we now know under the name of Lowel Tyron in Evolution.
Page 02 to 11: Code Lyoko, synopsis, characters, universe Page 12 to 18: Broadcasting Page 19 to 24: Code Lyoko goodies Page 25 to 44: Code Lyoko Evolution
On April the 28th of 2012, there was an encounter between the actors during one week. It was in order to bring the cast closer to the filming team.
On the programme: visit the filming place, rehearsals, work about the psychology of the actors and the characters, laser tag... The shooting had begun. Team spirit has been born between Luccio di Rosa and his actors. After exercises in order to simulate emotions, Marin and Gulliver had watched episodes of Code Lyoko. Mélanie was not already here.
But, at this time, all of this was really mysterious: we didn't yet know what the actors looked like. They hadn't been publicly revealed!
In May, the promotion of the series had come quickly.
On May 27 in 2012, the first visual of the new 3D avatars of the heroes (except for William) had been revealed. It was the first official and concrete visual.
On May 31 in 2012 a graffiti competition for the series was organised: the winner will see their tag in the series. In the end, several tags had been accepted, and will appear in the heroes' rooms and the walls of the factory.
On June 14 in 2012, CodeLyoko.fr exclusively obtained an image of the Megapod. On June 29 in 2012, it was the Ninja who had been revealed.
After the promotion, some events were established. On June 27 in 2012, Moonscoop announced an audition for the extras, at Futuroscope on July 4. The event was covered by Codelyoko.fr.
And, after that, on July 8, a Code Lyoko cosplay was organised at Japan Expo 2012. Again, Codelyoko.fr covered the event, even if it's not linked directly with the new series.
Some days ago, in secret, on July 2 in 2012, it was the beginning of the shooting. It would go on until August 30. Protected from the media, the shooting had some important known events!
On August 4 in 2012, there was the first published image, though fuzzy, of the actors. On August 28 in 2012, a member of the team of CodeLyoko.fr was invited to the filming location of Code Lyoko Evolution. [Read the file about the event]. The same day, another image of the actors had appeared in the press. We could only see their backs.
Two days after, on August 30 in 2012, France 3 published a report about the filming place of Code Lyoko Evolution. But no more images of the actors.
But who? Who were the actors of Code Lyoko Evolution? At the beginning of the month of June, the team of CodeLyoko.fr knew their identity. There was lot of leaks and rumours and, finally, on September 10 in 2012, CodeLyoko.fr published a file about the identity of the actors of Code Lyoko Evolution. [Read the file about the discovery of the actors]
Finally, on September 21 and 30 in 2012, CodeLyoko.fr revealed exclusively the ad from MIPTV where we can clearly see the actors, in good quality, in costume!
Well, we know now the identity of the actors...after the summer, this time, Moonscoop went on to reveal some news. On July 19 in 2012, Moonscoop showed us the Megapod more officially. But it's mainly since September that things were accelerating.
First of all, on September 29, 2012, Moonscoop revealed the first teaser for the 3D part of Code Lyoko Evolution. This trailer confirms a lot of information from the PDF from April. It mainly offers a good visual of the series. Then, every Thursday, Moonscoop would reveal a different trailer for several months. Other trailers would come from different sources, such as the France 4 website, or the Bangoo channel.
There is a teaser about the Evolution of every hero (Aelita, Ulrich, William, Yumi, Odd, Jim), a trailer about the Cortex, one about the new character Laura, one about the Megapod, and one about the Ninjas. Three trailers talk about XANA: "Has XANA really come back?", "Spectres", and "polymorphic clone". Finally, some trailers about the making of the series: "Where are the shooting places of Code Lyoko Evolution?", "Extras casting", "Decoration team", "Behind the scenes"...
The last part of all of this was one event. CodeLyoko.fr was, first of all, invited to a focus group in order to give its point of view exclusively about one episode of Code Lyoko in preview.
[Read the file about it]
This date is the public and official revelation of the actors, live at the event, but also on the net with a final trailer. On December 19, 2012, the first episode was published as a preview on the net. Then, on January 5, 2013, it's the official launch on TV.
Yes, it was difficult, it was long, but finally, Code Lyoko has come back.
Code Lyoko was here.
