1977 was an astonishingly creative year.
George Lucas released Star Wars.
Terry Brooks published The Sword of Shannara.
And the adult magazine Heavy Metal launched its first issue in April!
Hollywood, it seems, has gotten involved with all of them. George Lucas was given his chance and he redefined storytelling with Star Wars. A few years ago Terry Brooks sold the movie rights to his Shannara series. And in 1981 the magazine Heavy Metal spawned a movie of its own, one that became a cult classic with its sci-fi/fantasy storyline and heavy metal rock music.
Well now it appears as though Heavy Metal will be making another appearance on the silver screen—with some huge names attached!
Reportedly, James Cameron (Terminator, Aliens, Avatar), David Fincher (Alien3, Fight Club, Zodiac, Benjamin Button), Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen) and Gore Verbinski (The Ring, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) have all signed on to create segments for a new Heavy Metal movie.
Cameron obviously needs no introduction, the man responsible for two of the best sci-fi movies ever. Fincher has a very unique and specific style that would suit a movie like this. Snyder is perhaps the most interesting out of the four, simply because he has infused rock music in all of his movies and trailers. And Verbinski has a hand in horror and high adventure.
I mean… if this new Heavy Metal movie happens, it could be a great deal of fun for the sci-fi and fantasy community!
Or it could be Heavy Metal 2000. Eh.
We’ll have to watch how this plays out but with the current trend of the public enjoying Hollywood sci-fi, fantasy and superhero movies, I am betting this will be a huge hit with such talented people involved.
PS: In a short bit of trivia, that first issue of Heavy Metal carried an early excerpt from The Sword of Shannara. And in another short bit of trivia, Judy Lynn del Rey edited both The Sword of Shannara and the novelization to Star Wars to blockbuster status.
