In 2014, LeSean Thomas started a crowdfunding drive through Kickstarter for an animated adaptation of Cannon Busters. Helping with the project are Tim Yoon who worked as a producer for shows and films such as The Legend of Korra and Batman: Under the Red Hood, comic book artist Joe Madureira who assisted with character designs. A pilot episode was released to backers on July 8, 2016.
On August 2, 2017, it was announced that Cannon Busters would be released on Netflix as a 12-episode series. On July 6, 2018, Netflix announced a March 1, 2019 premiere date. However, the series was delayed as it was not included in the Netflix slate for March 2019. On May 30, 2019, British anime distributor Manga Entertainment appointed Reemsborko Ltd as the worldwide agent for Cannon Busters and that the series would be released on Netflix in late 2019. The series was released on Netflix on August 15, 2019. The 12-episode series was directed and written by LeSean Thomas, with Matt Wayne, Natasha Allegri, Anne Toole, Sib Ventress, Martin Pasko, and Nilah Magruder writing scripts alongside Thomas.  Takahiro Natori debuted as a director with the series with LeSean Thomas himself acting as chief director; character designs were handled by Tetsuya Kumagi, and the series featured music composed by Bradley Denniston and Kevin Begg. Satelight and Yumeta Company produced and co-animated the series.