Cartoon Network is heading back to the Land of Ooo, but this Adventure Time comeback comes with one pretty noticeable change: Finn will sound different.
The upcoming revival, Adventure Time: Side Quests, is set to focus on the earlier days of Finn and Jake. Instead of pushing one big serialised storyline, the new series is built around more standalone adventures, which honestly sounds like a very back-to-basics move for the franchise. Before all the heavy lore, alternate realities, and emotional damage, Adventure Time was also just about two bros going on weird quests and meeting strange characters. That energy seems to be the target here.
A new voice for young Finn
The big update is that Jeremy Shada, who has voiced Finn across the franchise, will not be playing this younger version of the character in Side Quests. Newcomer Sasha Knight is taking over the role for the prequel series.
No official reason for the recast has been shared, but given that Side Quests is following a younger Finn, the move makes sense. Rather than asking Shada to pitch the character younger again, Cartoon Network appears to be going for a fresh voice that better fits this earlier point in Finn’s life.
Knight is not completely new to voice work either, with past credits including Kingdom Hearts III, My Little Pony, Eureka!, and The Santa Clauses. So while this is a major role to step into, especially for a character as beloved as Finn, it is not coming out of nowhere.
The rest of the gang is mostly intact
For fans worried that the whole cast has been swapped, relax sikit. Several major Adventure Time favourites are returning with their original voices.
Jake the Dog will still be voiced by John DiMaggio, Ice King by Tom Kenny, Princess Bubblegum by Hynden Walch, Marceline by Olivia Olson, and BMO by Niki Yang. That is a pretty strong continuity lineup, and it should help Side Quests still feel like Adventure Time even with a different Finn.
There is also a chance Jeremy Shada is not fully done with the franchise. Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake has already found ways to bring adult Finn back, with Shada returning for that version of the character. So this feels less like a total replacement and more like Cartoon Network separating young Finn from older Finn.
Streaming details matter for Malaysia and SEA
Adventure Time: Side Quests is currently listed to arrive on Disney+ and Hulu on June 29. That is interesting because many Cartoon Network-related projects have traditionally been associated with HBO Max in the past.
For Malaysian viewers, the important bit is distribution. Hulu is not a normal streaming option here, so SEA fans will likely need to watch how Disney+ or Disney+ Hotstar handles the local rollout. If it lands properly in our region, this could be an easy nostalgia watch for fans who grew up with Cartoon Network after school, plus a decent entry point for younger viewers who only know the franchise through clips and memes.
The timing is also smart. Cartoon Network revivals are clearly having a moment. The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball reportedly performed strongly on Hulu, even overtaking the return of King of the Hill’s fourteenth season. Now the question is whether Finn and Jake still have that same pull.
Honestly, Adventure Time has a different kind of fanbase. Gumball is chaotic comedy, King of the Hill is adult nostalgia, but Adventure Time sits in that rare zone where silly episodes can suddenly punch you in the feelings. If Side Quests keeps the fun simple while respecting why people loved Finn and Jake in the first place, this could work.
The recast will definitely be the thing fans judge first. Finn’s voice is iconic, no cap. But if the series is clearly about a younger version of him, Sasha Knight has room to make the role fit this specific era instead of copying what came before.
Adventure Time: Side Quests premieres June 29 on Disney+ and Hulu.
Source: ComicBook Anime