Genndy Tartakovsky Unmasks ‘Black Knight’ Animation Test to Rally Fans

On the heels of finally seeing his original R-rated cartoon feature Fixed reach screens through Netflix this summer, animation creative powerhouse Genndy Tartakovsky (Primal, Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory, Hotel Transylvania) has released a “down and dirty” animation test for his alternate history project Black Knight. In a post to his Instagram, Tartakovsky debuted the 3D CG-animated fight scene between the titular mecha-knight and a chain mace-wielding ninja type.

The post was made, the writer-director-animator writes, to spur audience support and inspire the development studio to push the project through production to a theatrical release. While the studio is unnamed in the post, Black Knight was announced in development in 2018, when Sony Pictures Animation (which also turned over the smash hit KPop Demon Hunters to Netflix for release this year) revealed via Deadline that Tartakovsky would not be directing the third Hotel Transylvania movie and instead had been signed to helm both Fixed and this medieval mech adventure.

The comment consensus?

The post from Friday (which is closing in on 50,000 likes so far) reads:

“Well, this might get me in trouble … But gotta try a new strategy.

About six years ago we started development on a more adult animated action movie, The Black Knight. We developed it for a few years, the studio liked what we were doing but they were unsure if there is an audience that would go see it theatrically. We made a down and dirty test, and still no go. So to try something different I thought I would share the test to see if it can get a groundswell of excitement that would change the studio’s mind.

I won’t share the details of the story except for one element, our Knight Armor is 20 feet high and controlled by a knight inside using ropes, pulleys and levers. The setting is around the 14th century.

Anyways, I’ve already said too much.”

 

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