In recent years, it seems public opinion on the 2008 live-action Speed Racer movie is changing course. A box office bomb and critically derided, Speed Racer was at one point viewed as the first signs of cracks in The Wachowskis' Matrix armor. However, the film always had its fair share of diehard loyalists and it appears that their ranks are growing.
Taking to Twitter, actor Emile Hirsch recently wrote, "Watching my 4 and a half-year-old son hysterically laugh and filled with wonder and delight as we watched Speed Racer for the 10 year anniversary last night was an all time meta moment for me. Speed Racer 2, don't think we're just playin.'"
He went on to add, "The Wachowskis said long ago that the sequel to SPEED RACER would be mind-blowing. And the script is written. Waiting. RETWEET this to show them just how many people love the movie and want to see the next one."
The 2008 action comedy film from The Wachowski Brothers was based on Tatsuo Yoshida's 1966 shonen manga Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo). The original manga consisted of just 2 volumes but went on to spawn a 52 episode TV anime adaptation from Tatsunoko Production in 1967. A modernized reboot aired in Japan in 1997 and consisted of 34 episodes. Nickelodeon commissioned another reboot in 2002, titled Speed Racer X, but only 11 episodes aired due to legal issues regarding who actually owned the rights to the franchise.