Felines and toilets and Flea, oh F***! You never know what you’re going to get in a new volume of shorts from Love, Death + Robots, the anthology series created by Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate) and executive produced by David Fincher (Mindhunter, The Killer).

“I’ve given up on figuring out which season might be ‘the best’ because I love all my children,” says Miller, “but I am really excited about all the episodes in Volume 4.”

You can be sure that Love, Death + Robots Volume 4 will blast your eyeballs with things they’ve never seen before, whether it’s a puppet version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers or a cat bent on world domination.

Scroll on, if you dare, for a closer look at the new episodes, each of which comes from a different creative team.

“Can’t Stop”

Synopsis: A unique take on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ legendary 2003 performance at Slane Castle, Ireland, with band members Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante re-created as string puppets. Directed by Fincher, who originally made his name with music videos in the ’80s and early ’90s, before segueing into unforgettable feature films.

The origin story of “Can’t Stop” is just as incredible as you’d imagine. Fincher recalls, “I remember first talking to [bassist] Flea about the idea of doing a video when [editor] Kirk Baxter and I were cutting The Killer at Miraval. Flea and Brad [Pitt] were there. It was like summer camp. And Flea asked me, ‘Do you have time to do a music video? We’re putting a record out.’ I said, ‘I’d love to!’ I joke about it now, but the only reason I went to the trouble of making the video was [because] I wanted a Flea bobblehead doll. It’s kind of true.”

Animation Studio: Blur Studio

Voice Cast: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith

“Close Encounters of the Mini Kind”

Synopsis: Tiny terror is unleashed in this mini alien apocalypse as directors Robert Bisi and Andy Lyon pay loving tribute to classic sci-fi stories of alien invasion and human stupidity using tilt-shift techniques that make the end of the world look almost cute.

Bisi says, “The first idea that sparked a fire was: ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to witness a Roswell-type incident happening in a miniature style? Of course humans would screw that up.’ From then on we started to think of the film as a revenge story.”

Animation Studio: BUCK 

“Spider Rose”

Synopsis: A return to the fantastic cyberpunk universe of “Swarm” (Volume 3), created by visionary sci-fi author Bruce Sterling and directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson. On a remote asteroid mining operation, a grieving Mechanist gets a new companion and has a chance to avenge herself against the Shaper assassin who killed her husband.

“ ‘Spider Rose’ was one of the original stories that were batting around from pitches that Tim and Fincher were doing 15–16 years ago,” said Nelson. “It was one of those stories that just really grabs you and makes you think, because there’s a lot of layers in Bruce Sterling’s work. You always feel like you’re seeing a tiny little glimpse into something way bigger. There are so many things about it that were deeply emotional. For me, trying to go for that emotion, trying to go for that sense of loneliness and the need to bond with something, to feel something, that was the core of why that story appealed to me. It’s a very dark story, about a woman dealing with grief and the price it takes to heal.”

Animation Studio: Blur Studio

Voice Cast: Emily O’Brien, Feodor Chin, Piotr Michael, and Sumalee Montano

“400 Boys” 

Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic city where warring gangs follow a bushido-like code of honor, a new gang, the 400 Boys, forces them to unite. A blend of beauty and brutality from Canadian director Robert Valley, whose LDR episode “Ice” won an Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Animation.

“I did the screenplay adaptation of ‘400 Boys’ because it’s such a strange story,” said Miller of the source material written by Marc Laidlaw. “I’d read it in a short story collection called Mirrorshades [edited by Bruce Sterling], one of the original cyberpunk anthologies, in the ’80s. The whole collection is great, but that particular story was just so weird, I never forgot it. I sent it to Robert Valley because I thought his style would really fit the tone and he’s great to work with — and he fucking crushed it.”

“It was definitely the most challenging project my crew and I have ever undertaken,” said Valley. “I know Tim has had this particular story on his wish list for quite some time now and that it held a special place for him.”

Animation Studio: Passion Animation

Voice Cast: John Boyega, Ed Skrein, Sienna King, Dwane Walcott, Rahul Kohli, Pamela Nomvete, and Amar Chadha-Patel

“The Other Large Thing” 

Synopsis: From the mind of prolific writer John Scalzi comes the story of a cat who plans world domination. Sanchez, as his puny human “pets” know him, is helped by a new robotic butler (voiced by Last Week Tonight host John Oliver) who can hack into the World Wide Web and is eager to help his new master.

“Chris Parnell is the go-to voice for cats in Love, Death + Robots,” said director Patrick Osborne. “This short could be seen as a distant prequel to ‘The Three Robots’ from Seasons 1 and 2. Though it technically is a different cat, it seemed perfect to bring Chris back to the role. John Oliver is hilarious and has that sort of tone in his voice that just says, ‘You can trust me.’ He’s sweet, innocent, trustworthy, a little subservient — perfect for our little bot.” 

Animation Studio: AGBO

Voice Cast: Chris Parnell, John Oliver, Fred Tatasciore, and Rachel Kimsey

“Golgotha” 

Synopsis: In a rare live-action entry in Love, Death + Robots, a conscientious vicar – played by Rhys Darby (What We Do In The Shadows) – plays host to an emissary of an alien race who believes their messiah has been reborn on earth … as a dolphin. So, uh … yeah, Dolphin-Jesus. Directed by Tim Miller.

“Because of LDR, I’m super sensitive to stories that do a lot in a little space. I truly admire a story that can feel complete and satisfying in a very few pages, and ‘Golgotha’ fits the mold. It’s got a little of everything: sci-fi, humor, scope, a clean arc and a strong finish. It’s so very self-contained, and I could drive up the road and shoot it in Malibu — which is exactly what we did. Two days on a beach up past Point Dume. It was great to hop in the car and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway as the sun rose. I really love Los Angeles. The beach was beautiful, though the surf was more than we bargained for — Rhys and our Steadicam operator almost got washed out to sea when a few big rollers crashed a bit closer than anticipated to the action!”

Animation Studio: Luma Pictures (VFX)

Voice Cast: Rhys Darby, Moe Daniels, Graham McTavish, Phil Morris, Michelle Lukes, and Matthew Waterson

“The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur”

On a space station orbiting Jupiter, decadent aristocrats gather to witness a brutal contest of genetically modified gladiators — fierce combatants riding deadly, engineered dinosaurs. A tale of visceral violence and unlikely emotion, directed by Tim Miller, based on a short story by Stant Litore.

Miller told Netflix, “I had initially picked ‘The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur’ for this volume because Zack Snyder had casually said, ‘I’d love to do an episode.’ Zack was part of our original Heavy Metal film pitch [based on the sci-fi and fantasy comics anthology], and so I said, ‘Dude, have I got a story for you! It’s the most Heavy Metal fucking story ever! It’s a gladiatorial contest on a space station with genetically modified slaves in a race to the death atop genetically modified dinosaurs.’ But Zack was too busy with Rebel Moon when the time came, so the rest of the LDR team talked me into directing it.”

Animation Studio: Blur Studio

Voice Cast: MrBeast and Bai Ling

“How Zeke Got Religion”

B-17 Flying Fortress Liberty Belle has the oddest mission of World War Two: a journey into occupied France to bomb a church before the Nazis can raise an ancient evil. John McNichol’s short story of blood, fallen archangels, occult magic, and ultraviolence is directed by Diego Porral (lead animator on previous LDR classic “Kill Team Kill”).

“What drove me to the story so strongly was how few elements we had to make a great short,” said Porral. “Just 11 soldiers in a flying tin can fighting a demon. Having this level of simplicity as an obstacle has a fun aspect to it. We had to become experts in the layout of a B-17 and choreograph an entire short in it. All this whilst not losing track of the most important part of the story: Zeke’s growth and learning arc.”

Animation Studio: Titmouse

Voice Cast: Keston John, Braden Lynch, Roger Craig Smith, Gary Furlong, Bruce Thomas, Andrew Morgado, and Scott Whyte

“Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners”

From an angry toothbrush to an overworked smart shower head and an intelligent toilet, various household appliances divulge tales of bemusement, scorn, and wonder about their human owners. Directed by Patrick Osborne, of Volume 3 favorite “Three Robots: Exit Strategies.”

“The wonderful thing about our cast is that they all came ready to play,” said Osborne. “Armed with [John] Scalzi’s writing, we asked each actor to explore, try different angles, different approaches to the lines, and the episode is so much better for it. Much of the dialogue was ad-libbed. It was a dream to have the chance to collaborate with such a star-filled cast.”

Animation Studio: Aaron Sims Creative 

Voice Cast: Melissa Villaseñor, Ronny Chieng, Amy Sedaris, Kevin Hart, Josh Brener, Nat Faxon, Niecy Nash-Betts, and Brett Goldstein

“For He Can Creep”

London, 1757. A poet confined to an insane asylum believes Satan wants him to write a verse that will end the world. And the only thing standing between him and the Prince of Darkness (voiced by Dan Stevens) is his cat, Jeoffry. Emily Dean directs this wildly inventive period adaptation of Siobhan Carroll’s short story.

“For this episode we developed a graphic hatching style for CG animation,” said Dean. “I wanted to make something inspired by 18th-century etchings to give the look and feel of the historical period, but not bound by it, whilst being watchable. We looked at everything from the works of Piranesi and Gustave Doré to later comic artists such as Bernie Wrightson and François Schuiten.”

Animation Studio: Polygon Pictures Inc.  

Voice Cast: Dan Stevens, JB Blanc, Jim Broadbent, Nika Futterman, Jane Leeves, and Dave B. Mitchell

Watch the Love, Death + Robots Volume 4 Trailer