The RX-78 Will Have Its Day
With numerous series and films under its belt, the Gundam franchise isn’t only one of the most successful anime of all time, but also one of the most influential. You can point to practically any mecha show that aired from the 80s onward and see how the likes of the original Mobile Suit Gundam inspired it in both visuals and narrative. Nowadays there’s obviously no shortage of standalone shows waving the Gundam banner, with the likes of Zeta, The 08th MS Team, Thunderbolt and Iron-Blooded Orphans managing to capture the visceral nature and epic battles of its forefather. With so many decades of content, we’re surprised it took Hollywood this long to try their hand at an adaptation!
According to an announcement posted on Legendary Entertainment’s website –Â
“Legendary and Sunrise announced today at Anime Expo 2018, plans to co-produce the first-ever live-action feature film version of GUNDAM, based on Sunrise’s massively popular Mecha anime and science fiction media franchise. The billion dollar property was created in 1979 and has spawned a multi-platform universe encompassing televised anime, manga, animated films, video games, plastic models, toys, and novels among other media. Gundam continues to dominate master toy licensee Bandai Namco’s earnings almost forty years after its inception.
The original Gundam series is set in the Universal Century, an era in which humanity’s growing population has led people to emigrate to space colonies. Eventually, the people living in the colonies seek their autonomy, and launch a war of independence against the people living on Earth. Through the tragedies and discord arising from this human conflict, not only the maturation of the main character, but also the intentions of enemies and the surrounding people are sensitively depicted. The battles in the story, in which the characters pilot robots known as mobile suits, are wildly popular.
The story for the live-action version of Gundam is being kept under wraps.”
Do you think this could be just what the franchise needs? A retelling that could potentially bring in newcomers by exposing them to the battle between Amuro and Char? Or are we looking at another Transformers debacle? Lets hope that the project is placed in the hands of a competent and impassioned filmmaker with a love for the source material!
Be sure to check out the video below to see our picks for the Top 10 Gundam Mecha.
