Heavy Metal Live-Action Series Is Back With Second Season Teaser

By Nick Venable | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

For as hard as people have been clamoring for a live-action remake of the classic animated flick Heavy Metal, the live-action TV series Metal Hurlant Chronicles kind of came and went last year without making a huge impact. I mean, it made a lot of noise on its own, with all manner of big buff men yelling during slow-motion fight scenes, but it didn’t make for instant water-cooler conversation. It could be the name confused people, or perhaps the weird 300 aesthetic didn’t jive with people. Maybe that will all change with the upcoming monster-filled second season, which just premiered the new trailer seen above.

Metal Hurlant Chronicles is based on the long-running French comic anthology Metal Hurlant, known in the U.S. as Heavy Metal. The series is also an anthology, with each episode taking on a different story, while all of them share the narrative point that the titular meteorite is passing by the planet as the stories are happening.

Honestly, I’m confused by most if not all of this teaser taking place during one story, though that’s not a bad thing. Robot mechamorphs, endomorphs, an ugly alien, and Michael Jai White. That’s pretty much what I took away from this, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Because they aren’t taking them on merely by blasting them with huge guns or lasers; they’re punching them in their faces and roundhouse kicking them to death. It’s clear this series doesn’t have the mega-budget that most American productions have, but I love that they stick to practical effects and costumed makeups rather than messing with a ton of terrible-looking CGI.

Seriously, we could be talking about the most dreadful romantic comedy ever made, but if White shows up to kick someone in the stomach for a scene, I’ll give it a watch.

There are supposed to be another six episodes coming, though IMDb only lists five. But we’ll also get to see modern action badass Scott Adkins show up for a couple of episodes, as well as James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Kelly Brook (Piranha 3D), and actress/stuntwoman Michelle Lee (Blood and Bone), among many others well versed in movie stunt work. Gotta make all those punches to the face look as real as possible.

One never quite knows what to expect from a series like this, but we’ll find out next year. Metal Hurlant Chronicles is set to debut on January 4, 2014, but that’s probably only in France for the moment.

Check out the first season’s trailer below.