If you’re a fan of David Fincher and the Netflix series Love, Death + Robots, you’d better circle May 20th on your calendar. That’s because for the first time ever, Fincher directed an episode of the 11-time Emmy-winning animated anthology series and it’s his first foray into directing animation. The episode is titled Bad Travelling and according to Netflix it’s about:
“A jable shark-hunting sailing vessel is attacked by a giant crustacean whose size and intelligence is matched only by its appetite. Mutiny, betrayal and ventriloquism with a corpse…”
While the synopsis sounds cool and unlike anything Fincher has done before, I’ve got another reason to be excited for the episode: it was written by Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker. While I’m thrilled to see Fincher and Walker reteam for the first time in almost thirty years, I’m just as excited to learn that the episode is based on a short story by Neal Asher.
If you’ve seen the first two Volumes of Love, Death + Robots, you’ll recognize Asher’s name from Snow in the Desert, which was one of my favorite episodes from Volume 2. In that episode, an ageless man living on a scorched planet is hunted by hired killers and is saved by a beautiful stranger. Like most episodes of the series, Snow in the Desert has amazing animation, twists and turns that you don’t see coming, and it ends leaving you wanting more.
Anyway, for a taste of Fincher’s episode, you can watch the brand-new trailer for Volume 3 below. Fincher’s footage is around the twenty-second mark. It doesn’t use his name, just the episode title. In the footage you’ll notice some jaw-dropping animation by Blur Studio and a gigantic crustacean that’s willing to rip apart the human crew with its giant claws.
Love, Death + Robots was created by Tim Miller and is produced by Miller and Fincher. Jennifer Yuh Nelson is the supervising director.
If for some reason you haven't had a chance to watch Love, Death + Robots, trust me when I say it’s one of the best things Netflix has ever made, and it’s really worth your time. Love, Death + Robots Volume 3 drops on May 20th. The first two Volumes are available now.