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t’s official: Love, Death & Robots (also stylized as ❤️☠️🤖) has released its second season on Netflix. For those that are unfamiliar with the show, Love, Death & Robots is an anthology series that partners with multiple talented studios to bring us unique animated character storylines, all united through common themes. Given the name, it would make sense that the themes of the series focus around love, death and well, robots. Although Love, Death & Robots is a reboot of the 1981 film Heavy Metal,
the series takes the science fiction and fantasy elements and reinvents them in
new, creative ways.

The first season of Love, Death & Robots hosted a variety of animation styles and characters, sharing an emphasis on creative ability. The series housed clever dialogue, surreal action and captivating storylines, all captured within the scope of 18 episodes. The animators translated narrative experiences through a unique cast of characters. 

As we enter the second season, we meet new stories, new designs and new personas.

For the world of virtual influencers, Love, Death & Robots represents a special opportunity. Whereas most television series feature human portrayals of characters, Love, Death & Robots allows different styles of animated personas to take the stage–even virtual influencers. 

Virtual influencers like Imma Gram, Lil Miquela and Shudu Gram have held a variety of roles across a variety of industries, compounding into successful careers in fashion, music, modeling and more. The impending step for these digital personas will be a transition to the big screen, and Love, Death & Robots opens the door for just that. 

The integration of virtual humans into cast members would be seamless, allowing a virtual influencer to expand their storyline into new regions that align with their interests. For the Love, Death & Robots series, casting a virtual influencer would bring the VI’s social media fanbase to the show on Day 1, as well as create potential opportunities for more guest features and narratives. 

While studios may continue creating new animated characters to appear in their series, directors should turn to the celebrity dynamics of the traditional film world for inspiration. Celebrity actors and actresses float from film to film over decades, amassing fame, expectations and a loyal fanbase. By translating this same dynamic to the animated series world–anchored to virtual influencers with social media presences beyond the confines of the series–these creators will enjoy the increased PR, viewership and magic generated by casting celebrity virtual personas. 

We already see this shift now. Virtual influencers are infiltrating traditional forms of media such as billboard advertisements, digital campaigns and music streaming. The transition into televised media or film would be a logical next step—opening up a world of possibilities for both the series and its creators. For that reason and more, the signing of a virtual influencer to a series like Love, Death & Robots might be closer to actuality now more than ever. 

Although season two of Love, Death & Robots has just started, we’re excited to see how the series will progress. Considering the fact that the second season is entirely available for binging, and that Netflix has already green-lit a third season, virtual influencers in the animated world of Love, Death & Robots are still a possibility. As the digital and traditional worlds continue to collide, we’re excited to see more animated virtual personas take the spotlight, whether that’s on Instagram, in a Netflix anthology, or even on the big screen.