A Fan Proves Samurai Jack Could Work as a CGI Animated Movie

This is excellent. Using the open source CG program Blender, Samurai Jack fan Ave Espelita spent four months crafting this one-minute tribute movie. The movie also acts as evidence that a 3D-rendered Jack would still look great.

The seams are only showing a little, which marks it as a fantastic achievement for a single artist doing all the work on his own. It may seem simple, but the blended design and universe-appropriate setting look polished, and the fight is quick fun.

Since we’re getting reboots of everything else ‐ a trend moving swiftly through the 1980s and right on into the 1990s and beyond ‐ it seems logical that Samurai Jack has the potential to rise to the top of a magical studio executive list. Most likely at Warner Bros.

Plus, Genndy Tartakovsky has been trying to get a movie made since the show was on TV. The last real update came in 2012, with Tartakovsky assuring fans that the film project was still “on the top of [his] list,” but Hotel Transylvania’s success that same year has kept him busy. Like a lot of other in-development work, Samurai Jack’s movie has lingered in developmental purgatory.

Fortunately, Espelita has given us a brief, unofficial glimpse at the potential that Samurai Jack: The 3D Movie has. Maybe ‐ if the movie finally gets made ‐ Tartakovsky can find room on his staff for someone with skills and enthusiasm.

Good find, Cartoon Brew.

Scott Beggs: Movie stuff at VanityFair, Thrillist, IndieWire, Film School Rejects, and The Broken Projector Podcast@brokenprojector | Writing short stories at Adventitious.