Volume 4 of Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots drops on May 15 2025, but we got an exclusive first look at three full episodes and glimpses of even more at Las Vegas’s LVL UP EXPO, presented by the creator of Love, Death + Robots – Tim Miller.
No spoilers, but holy shit this is going to be a fantastic season.
“400 Boys” is adapted from Marc Laidlaw’s short story of the same name and directed by Robert Valley. They hyper-stylized art precisely platforms an incredible sci-fi story with roots in The Warriors within the world of a war-torn England. The cast is led by John Boyega, the best of the boys. The short plays like a hurricane – quiet before the storm, but ramping up into a whirlwind third act with scenes that blew us away.
This short is particularly close to Miller’s heart. He got visibly misty-eyed upon hearing the crowd’s reaction and told us, “I’m not supposed to say I have a favorite child, but this may be my favorite child.” His journey with “400 Boys” is decades deep, with him first reading the story in college. Miller cited “400 Boys” as an entry point for him to fall in love with cyberpunk sci-fi- a love that has clearly paid dividends.
Bruce Sterling’s “Spider Rose” story is the third episode in Volume 4, and is directed by longtime Love, Death + Robots contributor Jennifer Yuh Nelson. This episode takes place in the same world as Volume 3’s “Swarm,” as evidenced by the return of a certain alien investor. The fantastical sci-fi world is framed within achingly realistic animation to showcase the carefully curated story.
Blur Studios oversaw this short and put the whole thing together in around eighteen months. At the end of this episode, someone in the crowd screamed, “Stop making me cry,” if that’s any indication of how dark this episode gets.
In a loving follow-up to Volume 3’s “Night of the Mini Dead,” “Close Encounters of the Mini Kind” maintains the same level of screaming hilarity and somehow feels the same, but stronger and sillier than its predecessor. The humor is crude at times, but maintains the first mini-verse’s sensibility and mild cynicism in the world. There are some brilliant blink-and-you’ll-miss-it beats, so don’t be surprised if you have to watch this twice to catch all the jokes you belly laughed through the first time.
We didn’t get a full look at “The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur,” but we did watch the first few minutes of this Gladiator meets Jurassic Park meets Star Wars epic. Most notably, the preview was personally introduced virtually by controversial YouTuber Mr. Beast. Miller gave us the scoop that because of Mr. Beast’s affinity for the show, he offered to perform completely for free. This worked out for the Love, Death + Robots team because, as Miller has said, “we don’t pay a lot of money, or any. But (the performers) do it because they love the show.”
Speaking of talent, “The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur” was originally offered to director Zack Snyder and was personally adapted by Miller himself. Unfortunately for Snyder, Rebel Moon keeps his schedule too full to hop in on “The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur.” With Snyder backing out, the team pressured Miller himself to step up for the short. Mild spoilers here, but he nailed it.
Netflix didn’t bring any exclusive content for “Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners,” but Miller personally told Couch Soup the story behind some of the biggest casting moves in this episode. This short features Kevin Hart, who signed on for a very sweet reason.
Miller explains that while doing reshoots for Borderlands, Kevin Hart’s daughter chatted up Miller, praising his work on Deadpool. She quickly found out that Miller is also the creative mind behind her favorite TV show, Love, Death + Robots, and they geeked out enough that she convinced her father to lend his voice to the show. That may also be how Kevin Hart ended up lending his voice for Miller’s other anthology project, Secret Level.
We are so grateful to Netflix for this exclusive look at one of the most unique and highly anticipated TV shows of the year. Love, Death + Robots continues to deliver a brutal buffet of storytelling, with a little something for everyone.
Want to learn more about Love, Death + Robots? We interviewed Tim Miller himself on the upcoming season and secrets behind the show. Check it out here:
Which episode are you most excited for? Sound off in the comments!
