Fans of 1981’s original Heavy Metal will remember it as an anthology of animated films adapting short stories from the pages of “Heavy Metal” magazine. There was plenty of violence, nudity, sexuality — you name it. It’s become more of a cult favorite than a popular film today, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see a new Heavy Metal on the screen in the near future.

And that’s exactly what’s going to happen. “Heavy Metal” editor and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman is putting together a second film which, like the first before it, will feature a number of animated shorts. It’s been known for some time that David Fincher, Zack Snyder, and Gore Verbinski would be directing segments, but now comes word (via Film School Rejects) of another, even more massive name to sign on — James Cameron. Cameron will co-executive produce with Fincher and direct a short himself, which I would bet will be in 3D. Eastman also says that Mark Osborne (co-director of Kung Fu Panda) will be directing a comedy segment with Jack Black, and that they have three other “just as jaw-dropping” directors close to signing on.

That’s one helluva pool of talent. I really have no ties to the original film, but you can definitely count me as interested in this new one. Any fans of the original want to offer their two cents?

Tags: David Fincher, Gore Verbinski, Heavy Metal, Jack Black, James Cameron, Kevin Eastman, Mark Osborne, Zack Snyder