Cyberpunk Classic '400 Boys' Reimagined in Netflix's Love, Death & Robots Season 4
Marc Laidlaw penned 400 Boys in 1981 at age 21, well before his tenure as Valve’s lead writer and a key architect of the Half-Life series. First published in Omni magazine in 1983, the story later appeared in Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology, gaining a broader readership. On his website, Laidlaw notes that 400 Boys has likely reached more readers than anything else he’s written, save for some Dota 2 promotional copy. While the gaming world celebrates him for Half-Life, his creative legacy extends far beyond. Life takes curious turns.
In a ravaged city where rival gangs adhere to a samurai-like code, the emergence of the 400 Boys forces an uneasy alliance. Directed by Canadian filmmaker Robert Valley, whose “Ice” episode earned an Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Animation, this adaptation blends raw beauty with visceral intensity.
“I got the idea just walking around,” Laidlaw recalls. “In Eugene, Oregon, I’d see telephone poles plastered with band names from local gigs. I wanted to capture that energy. So I thought, if I fill a story with gangs, I can invent all these wild names. That spark drove much of the tale—it was a blast coming up with them.”

More than four decades after its debut, 400 Boys is now a standout episode in the fourth season of Netflix’s acclaimed animated anthology Love, Death and Robots. Directed by Robert Valley, known for Zima Blue and Ice, with a script by Tim Miller and a voice cast led by Star Wars’ John Boyega, the episode marks a new milestone for the story. Laidlaw never saw it coming.
“The story faded into the background, but cyberpunk stayed alive,” Laidlaw shares via video call just before the Season 4 premiere. “I didn’t dwell on it much.”
Forty years is a long wait for an adaptation, but the idea surfaced earlier. About 15 years ago, Tim Miller of Blur, a studio famed for video game cinematics, reached out about adapting 400 Boys. The project stalled amid studio shifts, as many do.
Then, in March 2019, Love, Death and Robots burst onto Netflix, redefining animated anthologies with its bold, adult-oriented tales. Some episodes provoked, others puzzled, but all captivated. Laidlaw noticed Miller’s involvement. “I couldn’t imagine anyone else turning J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned Giant into an animated episode,” he says. “Tim earned my respect for that alone.”

In 2020, Laidlaw relocated to Los Angeles. As the pandemic waned, he crossed paths with Miller at local events. He didn’t pitch 400 Boys, but hoped the anthology’s success might revive interest. A year ago, Miller emailed, asking if Laidlaw would consider optioning the story. The moment had arrived.
Laidlaw discussed the story with Miller, who adapted the script, and had brief talks with director Robert Valley. He shared his 400 Boys audiobook, recorded during the pandemic to entertain online audiences. “I did a reading and posted it on YouTube,” he says.
Laidlaw stayed hands-off during production. “It was refreshing to step back and not be in the thick of it,” he says. “I wanted to see what they’d create and just enjoy it.”
He’s seen the episode and is thrilled. “John Boyega, the characters, the accents, the setting—it’s so vibrant. They made the story visually spectacular.”
Reflecting on 400 Boys, Laidlaw calls it the work of “a different me from another lifetime.” Written in his youth, he remains proud of it. “I’m happy with it, considering how young I was.”
After a quiet period, Laidlaw joined Valve in 1997, shaping Half-Life. “And then that whole saga unfolded…”
Laidlaw left Valve in 2016, in what seemed like a full retreat from work. In reality, he’s in a place to choose projects freely and share them on his terms. “I retired too hard,” he admits. He never meant to stop creating. Writing was his goal, but the publishing world shifted while he was immersed in games. Solo game development wasn’t an option either. “I can’t make a game alone.”
Now, Laidlaw makes music, boosted by attention from Valve’s Half-Life 2 anniversary documentary and a rare development video he shared on YouTube. “I’m in the wrong business!” he laughs. “Maybe I should just leak old Valve secrets.”
Reflecting on the Valve documentary, he says, “It was cathartic to reconnect with old friends and wrap up that chapter.”
With Half-Life anniversaries behind him, only Dota 2, now 12 years old, remains for potential retrospectives. Maybe Valve will call in eight years. “I could talk Dota,” he says, or perhaps Alien Swarm, where he contributed lightly.
Talking to Laidlaw inevitably circles back to Half-Life. With Valve’s documentaries out, the past is settled. But what of Half-Life’s future? Asking about Half-Life 3 is futile—he’s disconnected from Valve’s current team and wouldn’t spill secrets anyway.
Instead, I ask if he’d write for games again. He’s open to it, even suggesting Hideo Kojima could’ve used his dialogue polish for Death Stranding. “I’d happily refine lines to fit actors better without breaking anything.”
Post-Valve, compelling offers were scarce. “I expected more interesting projects,” he says. “Instead, I got asks like writing a synopsis for a mobile laser tag game. They didn’t get what I do.”
Surprisingly, someone did ask him to write for a mobile laser tag game. “That’s the kind of thing I’d get,” he says. “I don’t like saying no, but I had little to offer there.”
He adds, “I haven’t heard game pitches that feel right. People think I’d write reams for a game, but Half-Life’s strength was minimal writing. I hated heavy text in games.”
The big question: would he return if Valve called for Half-Life 3? “I wouldn’t,” he says firmly. “I felt like the old guy stifling ideas. You need fresh voices, fans who grew up with it. I’d be saying, ‘The G-Man wouldn’t do that.’ I was becoming a drag on creativity.”
He hasn’t played Half-Life: Alyx and feels out of touch. “I’m not on the cutting edge anymore. That’s not what excites me now. Plus, it’s grueling work, and I’m not up for someone else’s schedule.”
Half-Life is behind Laidlaw, and he’s at peace with it. Yet his past resonates today. Netflix’s 400 Boys, 40 years later, proves it. Perhaps one day, Netflix will tap Valve for a Half-Life adaptation, and Laidlaw will revisit this journey anew.
“I stumbled into cyberpunk before it had a name and joined a fledgling game company that made Half-Life. I’ve been lucky to be part of these cultural waves.”
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