Code Lyoko: Evolution

The series was announced on May 31, 2011, four years after the original Code Lyoko ended, as a new 26-episode season titled Code Lyoko Évolution.

Unlike the original 2D-animated depiction of the real world, Evolution shifts to live-action for real-world scenes while keeping 3D CGI animation for the virtual world of Lyoko and the new Cortex territory.

Jérôme Mouscadet, director of the original Code Lyoko, and Sophie Decroisette, head writer for its first three seasons, were involved early in developing Evolution and wrote its series bible and initial episode synopses, but both left the project due to creative differences over the story direction.

According to Sophie Decroisette, the original show's head writer, Code Lyoko: Evolution is not considered canon to the original series.

An open casting call for extras was held on July 4, 2012 at the Futuroscope park in Poitiers ahead of filming.

Filming began on July 2, 2012 and lasted nine weeks, taking place near Angoulême in the Poitou-Charentes region, including at Lycée Guez-de-Balzac for school scenes and in a studio in Saint-Yrieix.

The overall production budget was about €5,600,000, split between roughly €2,100,000 for the live-action portion and €3,500,000 for the 3D animation.

On May 27, 2012, MoonScoop unveiled the new character designs through a cosplay advertisement at Japan Expo, and a few days later organized a graffiti contest to use submitted designs in the show's set decoration.

Compared to the original series, the Ice and Forest territories of Lyoko were removed and replaced by a new territory called Cortex, while new characters like Laura Gauthier were introduced and others such as Kiwi, Nicolas, Hervé, Milly and Tamiya were dropped.

The soundtrack was completely redone for Evolution compared to the original series, notably removing the lyrics that had been present in the original theme and music.

Episode 19 was briefly made available on the iTunes Store on May 5, 2013, the day after its scheduled air date, before being removed the following day, during a broadcast pause by France 4.

The series received a mixed reception, scoring an average of 2.5/5 on Allociné and 6.3/10 on IMDb.