SS Rajamouli and the team behind ‘Baahubali: The Eternal War’ presented new information about the animation at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Joining Rajamouli, was director Ishan Shukla, who spoke about the film, directed the footage and shared the inspiration behind the central idea.The CGI spin-off of the blockbuster franchise was launched by producer Rajamouli at the event. Coming to the big screen, he shared that he had high hopes for the film after the previous script failed to recreate the previous experience.“We had moderate success but it wasn’t the kind of success that a Baahubali Franchise made. Then one day, another crazy person comes, Ishan Shukla, and he gives us an idea of ​​what happens to Baahubali after his death, and he goes to the 14 places of Indian mythology,” he told fans and media.Directed by Shukla, ‘Baahubali: The Eternal War’ follows Baahubali to the afterlife, where he lives in an eternal war across 14 realms between Devas and Asuras.Speaking to Deadline after the show, Shukla revealed that the idea came from his spiritual journey to a monastery in Gujarat. “I spent about four years in a monastery in India, from the age of 30 to 35,” he said. “There was a large painting, a painting in the temple of the 14 worlds. That thought stayed with me for a long time.”Shukla said that producer Shobu Yarlagadda approached him after watching his cartoon ‘Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust’ and said, “He can sense that I have a good understanding and a lot of people. He said maybe we should try together. They look forward to the next Baahubali, but something more special. That’s how it started.”The filmmaker admitted that he was initially hesitant to take on the project because he is known for his ‘super psychedelic’ work, but added that the connecting thread is “world-building”.Sharing the main challenges of making the project, Shukla said, is changing PrabhasBaahubali’s iconic image being animated. “It took a long time because we wanted to shoot him… if we try to make him look like the real Prabhas, it starts looking like a video game character,” he said.“So there was a sweet spot that we had to hit where we are very, very religious to the style of the film, but we are also religious to the fans of Prabhas. And the fans of Prabhas are, you know, they will kill you. So we had to be very much on the point that it looks like Prabhas, that it is believable. We went through it again and again, which was painful for him.”Paris-based animation director Antoine Charreyron, who worked on the animation along with Florent Auguy and Dorian Marchesin under the Alcyde banner, said that the story was too complicated and that he originally hoped to be like ‘Lord of the Rings’. “We thought this was easy. It’s the Lord of the Rings. Devas and Asuras and elves and trolls. It was wrong, it’s deeper than that. There are 14 places, many details… and every detail means something. So it’s very interesting. “CGI director Simon Brown, who joined in January, confirmed that work is progressing. “We are very deep in design. We are building hundreds of characters, creatures, animals, props, vehicles, creating 38 designs across many locations.”Shukla also added that the film is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2027, and plans to return to Annecy next year to show more of the project.