Black Sun (film)

Black Sun is an R-rated animated action/comedy hybrid released by Deep Freeze Productions in 2020. Based around the recently unveiled character of the same name, Black Sun features director Shane Black, along with actors like James Spader (The Blacklist, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine Nine), Kimberly Brooks (Steven Universe, Mass Effect), and Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy). The film takes place after the events of the Bizuko-developed video game, Plum: Dead World, with a lot of characterization and plot points being carried over for the film.
The film was released alongside a short film that takes place during the events of Dead World, entitled Zephon's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, which showcases what Black Sun was doing during the events of the game.
==Main Story==
To read up on the plot of Black Sun, go here for more information.
==Zephon's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives==
Zephon's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives is a story that takes place during the events of Plum: Dead World, following Zephon the minute after he steals the Maid-01 during the prison break scene.
The short opens with Black Sun driving through New Mexico on the Maid-01, still in his prison jumpsuit. The narration provides backstory for why Zephon is on Earth in the first place: his spaceship, the Black Knight, had an engine failure mid-flight and had to crash-land on Earth. Landing near the headquarters of F.A.N.T, Zephon immediately tried to engage in a fight with the agents there, but ultimately was defeated. The Black Knight was taken to "The Base", F.A.N.T's large airship, while Zephon was taken to a hidden canyon prison in New Mexico. After escaping with Reten's bike as a reward, Black Sun made it his mission to get the Black Knight back and get back home.
After the monologue is over, Zephon parks the Maid-01 at a nearby gas station that doubles as a Freebirds location. Zephon walks inside and waits in line, getting odd glances from the others in the establishment. As he finally gets to the front of the line and starts ordering a burrito bowl, someone stands up and starts to open fire on him. It's revealed that this bystander is actually an undercover F.A.N.T agent who had heard of the prison break, tracking Zephon down.
Zephon, undettered by the agent's threats and weapon, ignores him and keeps on making his order. He clearly ducks and dives behind the soda machine and other cover areas while the agent keeps firing, forcing the regular customers to either hide or run out of the establishment. Zephon keeps trying to tell the employee behind the counter to take his time making the bowl as the soda machine starts to combust. This all plays out as Paint It, Black by the Rolling Stones plays over the restaurant's radio. Finally, the employee finishes making the bowl and has Zephon pay in cash, prompting Zephon to take the bowl and start to eat it as the agent is still firing at him.
As Zephon eats the bowl, a bullet grazes the side of the dish, forcing all of the contents within to spill out onto the floor. Zephon stops and proceeds to pull out his gun, shooting the agent in the head, stomach, and legs. Finally, he looks at the traumatized employee while bending down to eat what remains of the burrito bowl. He runs out of the establishment and activates Maid-01, driving off beyond New Mexico. As he fades out of the frame, he remarks that the bowl was shit.
The next scene shows him in his regular get-up, driving through Washington D.C. in search of "The Base". He eventually finds it (not particulary hard to find, it was floating above the ocean) and goes inside, ready to take back his ship and kick some ass while doing it. As more agents and armored guys try to kill him, he keeps beating the shit out of every one of them while taking a few hits. Black Sun is seen throwing small disks around "The Base", each one landing in a random location. Eventually, he makes it to the inside of the ship, leaving the ruined deck for the cargo area.
Zephon, not knowing "The Base" is meant as the operation zone for F.A.N.T's superpowered operatives, goes inside of the airship and immediately tries to the lure whoever's inside out, insulting seemingly no one. It's only when he's attacked by Zane, Hugo Logia, Blank, and Shy Dude that he realized that he lowkey fucked up. Hugo explains that F.A.N.T confiscated his ship due to the potential harm it could bring to humanity and arrested Black Sun for his multiple crimes, including arson, first, second, and third degree murder, blowing up an entire planet, armed robbery, and disregarding parking tickets. As Hugo starts to lift Zephon with his telekinetic powers, trying to move him without causing harm or damage, Zephon pulls out a small metallic box with a button in the middle, pressing the button while smirking at the group.
Just then, explosions can be heard as the floor above them starts to crack and crumble due to Zephon's previously set-up mine network being activated. Cargo and other things begin to tumble into the lower deck, prompting a battle to begin between the Operatives and Black Sun. Zane attempts to slash and fly at Black Sun, getting some hits on him before being shot in the wing by the Amity and being rammed by a chunk of debris from the upper deck. Hugo starts to throw things at Zephon's location, hoping to hit him, but ends up slightly hitting Blank. Zephon uses this opportunity to catch Blank off guard, with Blank herself landing a few hits on something and apparently "dislocating something" (Zephon liked lying a bit too much). Blank goes camoflague in order to land more hits on Zephon, but is hit by cargo and is knocked unconcious.
Shy Dude barrels through the falling debris and object, posing a bigger threat to Zephon than any of the others. Zephon uses the "grapple mode" on the Amity to swing around what's left of the upper deck, causing more chunks and debris to fall. Hugo and Shy Dude combine their abilities, with Hugo lifting debris and trying to make sure neither of the two end up dead, while Shy Dude tries to fight against Hugo's powers, launching some falling chunks with his hammer. As Zephon keeps moving and swinging around, Shy Dude accidentally chucks his hammer are the wall of the lower deck, creating a hole that's trying to suck everything out of the ship and into the ocean below. Trying to hold on for dear life, a forklift from the cargo bay rams into him, cracking his mask and throwing him out into the world below. With Zephon also holding on for dear life, Hugo manages to move multiple chunks of the ceiling over the hole, creating a temporary blockage while keeping the ship afloat.
As the two regain their balance, Hugo explains that this all can be resolved peacefully if Zephon gives up, only to realize that Zephon has started running to the loading bay area on the ship. There lies the Black Knight, somewhat scratched up and dented...just how Zephon left it. Just as Black Sun starts to run towards the ship, he's struck by one of the boxes that fell, causing him to fall. As more and more things are piled up on top of him, it's revealed that Hugo has pinned him down, hoping to incapacitate him without fully killing him. As Blank and Zane return, staring at Zephon, the skeletal mercenary starts laughing as he whistles a tune and the engines of a motorcycle are heard in the distance, revealing the Maid-01 has been slightly modified to come to him when he whistles that specific tune.
The Maid-01 barrels through the lower deck, dodging debris and driving in front of Black Sun, who uses his outstretched arm to free himself of the rubble. He swings around, landing his boot on Hugo's face, shattering his glasses. Black Sun fully hops on the 01 and rams into Blank, shooting Zane's other wing. Finally, Zephon manually opens the Black Knight's walkway, managing to bring him and the Maid-01 inside. As the ship starts to rise, Hugo makes one last attempt to apprehend the ship, using his powers to turn the ship and pull it. Black Sun uses this to his advantage, as the wall he's facing is parallel from one of the ship's engines. Black Sun looks out the cockpit, flips the bird, flips AT the bird, and fires multiple lazer blasts at the wall, eventually breaking through and destroying the engine.
As the ship starts to collapse, Hugo falls out of the air craft, freeing the Black Knight of his powers. The ship jets out of there as millions of government dollars are plunged into the ocean. In the distance stand Group 450, staring at the strange object jetting out of the planet and the collapsing facility. Keja remarks that whoever that was is going to be in some deep shit, with everyone else reconfirming the point or agreeing with it. The short film ends with a shot of the Black Knight flying off into the sky, with more stars showing and the blue hue getting darker and darker.
==Cast/Characters==
====Character====	
====Description====
	
A cold, cynical, loud-mouthed space mercenary, Zephon Koi is the undead member of the Creykon species known as the Black Sun. When an old friend seeks to finally get rid of him, he enlists the help of the up-and-coming mercenary, Elkine, and former UGC member Captain Nebulava to help take him down first.
Voice Actor: James Spader
	
Elkine is new to this whole "mercenary" thing, so when her and her girlfriend have to team up with one of the universe's most legendary to take down a desired target, Elkine jumps at the chance to cause some havoc once and for all.
Voice Actor: Stephanie Beatriz
	
A former member of the United Galactic Confederation, Lupita Nebulava is a superhero for all living beings and girlfriends with Elkine. While she's not very okay with helping someone like Black Sun at first, she realizes it's her one chance to finally take down a galactic criminal once and for all and decides to join him and her significant other.
Voice Actor: Kimberly Brooks
	
An alien billionaire and boot mogul, Tyyrian Shim is one of the richest men in the galaxy while also doubling as one of the scummiest. When he finally gets word of Zephon returning, he decides to send even more dangerous mercenaries after him in the hopes of finally exterminating the thorn in his side.
Voice Actor: Michael Rooker
	
A former spy, Mistress Murder has retired from espionage and decided to open up a club on the "Party Planet" exclusively for mercenaries and assassins. Somewhat of an sister figure for Zephon, she's morally ambiguous, although she has it out for Tyyrian as well.
Voice Actor: Grace Jones
	
Mistress Murder's prized bartender, Sykes is a useful ally to the lady herself. Known for his four extra spider-like appendages, Sykes is very loyal to the mistress. In addition, Zephon and him share a relationship akin to that of a father and son, with one usually looking out for the other.
Voice Actor: Charlie Day
	
A robotic duplicate of the blue Beorn himself, UNT3N is at war with himself...literally. Two different beings are fighting over his body at the same time, resulting in a complete mess of parts and personalities. Kidnapped by Tyyrian to act as a bodyguard of sorts, UNT3N has the potential to be a deadly threat to our protagonists.
Voice Actor: John St. John
==Soundtrack==
Below are the list of music used throughout the film's runtime. Original compositions and licensed songs are separated into their respective categories.
===Original===
#The Black Knight Flies Again
#Valhalla Incoming
#Mistress Murder's
#Intrusive Intruder of Intrudingness
#Tyyrian and the Diminishing Returns
#The Ol' Space Gays
#Landing On Water: A Tutorial
#Architecture At It's Finest
#Why I'm Like This
#Bounty on the Old Man's Head
#Xelatova Gets the Hint
#The Chat
#Cold Opening
#Shim in Shambles
#Return of UNT3N
#Breaking Down the Walls
#Bygones Be Bygones
#Takes Some Time To Heal
#His Motley Crew
#The Darkest Star In The Sky (Credits)
===Licensed===
#Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
#DARE - Gorillaz
#Moonage Daydream - David Bowie
#Panama - Van Halen
#Black Betty - Ramjam/Spiderbait
#Money - Pink Floyd
#Welcome to the Jungle - Guns N' Roses
#Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
==Development==
Black Sun began as an idea for a Netflix animated mini-series about the titular "hero" on a quest to kill other mercenaries known as "The Unkillables", wanting to stand above all others and assert himself as the best in his class. The series was titled "Black Sun and the Unkillables" and was to function as a "monster of the week" show, as each episode would be about Black Sun finding a new Unkillable, finding their weakness, and eventually overcoming it and killing them. The concept was turned down by DoodleFox due to the predictable format of it, going back to the drawing board while keeping some key ideas (Black Sun, Mistress Murder and her casino, the galactic theming, etc.).
Before the formation of the movie idea, DoodleFox decided to revive multiple characters and concepts from past ideas. The most notable example of this was the failed project known as Godspeed, which was the original starting point for characters like Captain Nebulava, Sykes Co'En, Fausta Richards, and Paulie Tony. Elkine was one of the most drastically changed characters, coming from a former fantasy game idea known as Lemo. She was originally a forest elf accompanied by a large yet stout tree-like monster known as Trunks, who was later scrapped due to his uncanny similarities to Groot from Marvel. Most of the other concepts were made from scratch, however, with notable inclusions like the Black Knight, Tyyrian Shim, and Ymirn.
The film's tone was inspired by the 70's themed Guardians of the Galaxy, with the humor being based on Deadpool, The Hitman's Bodyguard, and Brooklyn 99. The overarching theme of masculinity and overcoming your trauma was developed as a response to how toxic of a character Black Sun originally was. As all of these ideas started to culminate, one last piece of the puzzle was added: UNT3N, another old character from Doodle's history. UNT3N had mostly been absent from the New Fantendoverse ever since his appearance in Xerra: The Last Beorn, so bringing him back was a way for Doodle to shine a spotlight, albeit a small one, on him once again. All of these elements formed into the finished product, which was a culmination of old and new ideas alike.
==Gallery==
Black Sun movie logo.png|The film's logo.
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==Trivia==
*The film is inspired by superhero movies from the 2010's, such as both Guardians of the Galaxy films and Deadpool. It was also inspired by other films like Baby Driver and The Hitman's Bodyguard.
*Black Sun was originally going to be voiced by Harrison Ford, but was switched out for James Spader later down the line.
*The film's soundtrack, when being chosen, aimed to feature no two songs from the same artist. As such, songs like Every Planet We Reach Is Dead by Gorillaz and Jump by Van Halen were cut from the line-up.
Category:Films
Category:Rated R Films
Category:Deep Freeze Productions
Category:DoodleFox
Category:What is the New Fantendoverse?
Category:Action Films
Category:Adventure Films
Category:Comedy Films