Genndy Tartakovsky Isn’t Waiting Anymore: The Black Knight Test Footage Leak Is Just the Beginning
Genndy Tartakovsky, the animation mastermind behind Samurai Jack, Primal, and Dexter’s Laboratory, is done waiting for Hollywood to catch up with him. In late September, the filmmaker took a bold move to revive his passion project The Black Knight, by leaking the test footage himself.
The footage, which Tartakovsky dropped on Instagram, shows a lone warrior clashing with a towering 20-foot medieval knight. It’s pure Tartakovsky energy that is kinetic, stylized, and packed with visual power.
He revealed that the test reel was actually created over six years ago to showcase what an adult-oriented animated action film could look like. Despite earning creative approval, the project was never greenlit at Sony Animation, where he was set to direct two original films.
Tartakovsky told Polygon:
“They just go, ‘Where’s the audience?’ Or ‘Who is the audience? And it’s like… what do you mean? It’s part of Spider-Verse, it’s part of anime — that’s the audience.”
His frustration only grew as other adult-targeted animated hits like KPop Demon Hunters and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle stormed the box office.
“How long am I just going to sit there and have all these projects come out? Because mine is original, it’s not getting made. So I thought I would just put it out there.”
To his surprise, Sony didn’t fight him on it. He said:
“They weren’t yelling at me. They were like, ‘OK, I guess if this is what you want to do, go ahead.’ And now the reaction’s great.”
The test footage quickly spread across social media, especially after going viral in Latin America. Encouraged by the outpouring of support, Tartakovsky says he’s not stopping anytime soon. He plans to release more Black Knight material “every week until it gets made.”
Now, the filmmaker hopes fan enthusiasm can convince studio heads, especially Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman, that audiences are ready for something fresh, something not based on an existing franchise. Unfortunatley, Rothman is not the smartest studio executive.
“Most people younger than my generation like animation and don’t treat it as just for kids. That’s who I’m making this for.”
If the passion of his fans is any indication, hopefully Tartakovsky’s The Black Knight might actually get made.