Lo! With Gary Gygax’ (R.I.P.) ascension to Valhalla less than a fortnight hence, it is prophesied that the the King’s mantle shall be taken up by brave warriors 2, both of noble works and lineage whom shall usher in the new age of nerdery.

As Variety reported earlier this week, Paramount Pictures and the production team of David Fincher, Kevin Eastman, and Tim Miller are launching the third installment of the Heavy Metal animated film franchise. Just as the original film (I didn’t see Heavy Metal 2000) , this one will be broken up into 8 or 9 animated segment chock-full of blood boobs and beasts.

I don’t know about you all, but to me this is great news. My memory of the first Heavy Metal film is a nostalgic one and as a result, I find it hard to objectively vouch for it’s true quality, but it certainly made an impression and it did introduce me to the works of Jean Moebius Giraud to whom I, as all nerds, owe a great debt of gratitude. I heard that Heavy Metal 2000 sucked and I really haven’t read much of the magazine in the last decade, but considering the tone of the book coupled with modern innovations in the animation and Fincher’s stunning visual style, this has potential to be something special.

Kevin Eastman’s not so shabby either.

I have no idea who the Hell that other guy is.

In all fairness, Kevin Eastman probably was next in line to the nerd throne that Gygax left vacant earlier this month, but Fincher is the true Cinderella story here. While the early half of Fincher’s career was spent hanging out with the likes of Madonna, George Michael, a bunch of supermodels and Brad Pitt, (squeezing an Alien movie into for good form) his battle for the throne has been an almost hopelessly uphill struggle. But with the announcement a few weeks back that he will direct Charles Burns’ “Black Hole” while still in development on Brian Michael Bendis’ “Torso” while currently spearheading the third installment of the Heavy Metal franchise, Fincher pulls it out in the ninth inning, squeezing past Guillermo Del Toro and earning his place at Eastman’s side, Odin bless them.

Beowulf was a clear push in establishing animated epics for mature audiences, Heavy Metal may well establish that market or solidify it as a novelty. I have my doubts about any animated movie for mature audiences even scratching the surface of some of the greatness that Pixar has shown us, but here’s hoping.