Anime

Samurai Jack Creator On Season 5’s Surprising Direction

Fans have been waiting over a decade for the return of Samurai Jack, and now that it’s set to […]

Fans have been waiting over a decade for the return of Samurai Jack, and now that it’s set to finally see the light of day the creator has been teasing a few details.

Videos by ComicBook.com

When it seemed like all hope for a new season was lost, Genndy Tartakovsky continually encouraged fans to continue voicing their wishes for more material.

And they were rewarded, if not surprised, when Adult Swim announced they picked up the cartoon for a fifth season.

While Tartakovskyโ€”noted for his work on Dexter’s Laboratory, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the Hotel Transylvania series of filmsโ€”promised that Samurai Jack would continue the story he always meant to tell, he also revealed the season would take place 50 years after Season 4 ended.

Speaking at a press event for the series (via IGN), Tartakovsky said the most important of the new season was the tone.

“That was really the biggest motivation,” Tartakovsky said. “The storytelling, because it’s this one arc, was more interesting because now we could take our time, we wouldn’t have to rush through anything. Where it’s going is a really huge arc, and it’s hopefully really satisfying at the end.”

Yep, the end. As in, no more Samurai Jack after these 10 episodes.

“Once you get through these 10 [shows], it’s done,” Tartakovsky clarified. “There’s other things that I want to do creatively, artistically. But I feel like after this, for me, Jack is put to bed.”

The shift to Adult Swim, however, won’t mean more gore. There will be human enemies for Jack to fight, instead of the series standard of robots and monsters. โ€จโ€จThey instead decided to focus on the feel of the series, making more mature storytelling decisions.

“We could have easily gone gory and made it Kill Bill, that type of gore,” Tartakovsky said. “But that’s not Jack. It’s still stylistic and very designed. You’re trying to do it tastefully rather than gory.”

Speaking about the series barreling toward its endpoint, and Jack stuck in the dystopian future for 50 years, Tartakovsky wouldn’t reveal too much.

“It’s a big idea, and I don’t know if I want to give it away yet because it comes around episode 5 or 6 where we start to realize, ‘Oh wait, this is where it’s heading?’ I wanted to do [this idea] in animation because I feel like it’s never been done right and it’s really challenging, and at the end of the day I really want you to feel.”

So even though Jack is returning, fans of the series are still going to be left with emotions when it’s all said and done.

“That’s the thing. Ideally, you’re gonna be more invested in Jack than you ever have before.”

Samurai Jack premiers Saturday, March 11 on Adult Swim.

MORE SAMURAI JACK NEWS: ยทNew Samurai Jack Footage Featured In Season 5 Featurette
ยทAdult Swim Is Live-Streaming Every Samurai Jack Episode Online
ยทSamurai Jack Season Five Trailer Released