the wachowskis' 2008 film speed racer turned 10 years old last week, and though the film was largely overlooked and critically panned at its release, it has since built a dedicated fanbase of those who appreciate it for what it is. still, due to the poor box office return, the wachowskis shelved the speed racer sequel script they had ready and waiting before the first film was even released.

for the film's anniversary, star emile hirsch shared the film with his son and told his twitter followers that his son's enthusiastic response has him more excited than ever about a follow-up. hirsch's plan? rally enough people to make speed racer 2 a priority.

a united social media front has historically paved the way for unlikely films and television series to get the green light from wary studios, so hirsch may have the right idea in calling on the film's cult following to prove to warner bros. that speed racer 2 needs to happen. speed racer was the first film the wachowski siblings directed post-the matrix trilogy, and its unique cg animation and cartoonish format, although 100% faithful to the original animated series, was a complete 180 from the r-rated matrix series.

related: speed racer at 10: how a box office bomb turned cult classic

with the film's lead actor more than willing to jump back in and the wachowski's recently freed up from working on sense8 for netflix, the timing may finally be right to dive back into the animated world of speed racer and his family. that's doubly enticing since anime adaptations are also getting more and more attention as their fanbases have grown exponentially with the advent of online streaming.

speed racer stars emile hirsch as speed racer, christina ricci as trixie, susan sarandon as mom, john goodman as pops, paulie litt as spritle racer, and matthew fox as racer x.

(via joblo.com)