Interplay announced today that the company signed a partnership arrangement with Earthworm Jim creator Douglas TenNapel to relaunch the videogame icon.

TenNapel will serve as a creative consultant on Earthworm Jim 4, and will simultaneously develop an animated series and feature film to expand the well known brand.

TenNapel created the original Earthworm Jim character, which Interplay developed into a video game with Shiny Studios for the Sega Genesis console in 1994. The game became an immediate hit, and later spawned sequels on various computer and video game platforms, including Earthworm Jim 2, Earthworm Jim 3D, and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy.

The iconic character became a virtual hero whose popularity took him far beyond video games into TV and toys. An animated Earthworm Jim television series, produced by TenNapel, aired for two seasons from 1995 to 1996, on The Kids WB! with Dan Castellaneta of "The Simpsons" providing the voice for the title character.