If you’re going to make a Gundam live-action movie, it’s probably best to have a MonsterVerse director at your side. And that’s exactly Netflix’s thinking as they announce a Gundam movie is coming to their streaming app. They have recruited Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts to bring this classic sci-fi anime to life.
Legendary Entertainment, home to the MonsterVerse, have teamed up with Netflix for this exclusive Gundam blockbuster. For now, any further details about the movie’s plot and cast are being kept under wraps. The working title is simply Gundam. Y: The Last Man and Runaways scribe Brian K. Vaughn is behind the screenplay, and will be serving as an executive producer.
Gundam will stream worldwide on Netflix except for in China, where Legendary plans to open the movie on the big screen. No release date has been announced, but it’s possible that it won’t premiere on Netflix until 2023, due to the backlog of movies from 2020 that still haven’t been released at this time. Legendary’s Cale Boyter will oversee the project alongside original Gundam studio Sunrise.
The story will take place in the Universal Century, which is the same timeline as the anime. It’s suspected that Netflix and Jordan Vogt-Roberts will be pulling their influences directly from the show. Gigantic space battles are a guarantee, as space colony armies fight for independence against those still living on Earth. It is expected that Jordan Vogt-Roberts will share more about the movie in the coming months, as production ramps up.
Netflix has a solid anime catalogue and fan base that subscribe to the streaming app solely for that reason. So this partnership makes a lot of sense. Netflix isn’t offering any information on the budget at this time. The Gundam franchise has an active global fanbase, and the hope is that the movie brings in new subscribers worldwide for what is being described as a Netflix event picture in the same vein as their upcoming thriller The Gray Man, which at the time of production was the largest movie the streamer has attempted.
Mobile Suit Gundam was the first Gundam series to premiere back in 1979. It was created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, who’s presence will no doubt be felt in the live action version coming our way. Since the time of its creation, there has been plenty of interest in the series. And there have been a number of spinoffs throughout the past couple of decades. Bandai continues to find huge success with their line of Gundam toys and models. This news originated at IGN.