Legendary is Making a Live-Action Gundam Movie

Legendary Entertainment announces plans to develop a live-action Gundam movie in partnership with Japanese animation studio Sunrise. The Gundam franchise is an iconic brand that got its start almost 40 years ago in 1979, focusing on giant robots and suits called Gundam. Like most major science fiction properties, it got its start on television, but in the form of an anime called Mobile Suit Gundam that aired for only one year. However, that single year became the impetus for an enormous franchise.

Sunrise has produced dozens of Gundam TV shows and movies over the years, as well as video games, manga, and ultra expensive models, which have all propelled the value of the overall franchise into the billions. But it's worth noting that the vast majority of all those adaptations were animated, with only one live-action version coming in 2000, called G-Saviour. It wasn't particularly groundbreaking for the franchise considering it released only as a Canadian TV movie, but that's something Legendary is looking to change with their adaptation.

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Legendary and Sunrise announced their intentions to make a live-action Gundam movie at Anime Expo 2018. While the film's story is being kept under wraps at this time, it was revealed that Pacific Rim Uprising producer Cale Boyter will be overseeing production on the project, which is being hailed as the first-ever live-action adaptation of the franchise. Again, since G-Saviour released as a TV movie, so the statement is technically correct.

While Legendary's project will mark the first live-action Gundam movie to grace the big screen, it won't be the first time that the character/creation has appeared in a live-action movie before. Earlier this year, a Gundam was temporarily featured in Steven Spielberg's VR-focused film, Ready Player One. However, seeing as the Gundam appeared while the characters were immersed in the video game OASIS, could it really count as the series' first live-action appearance?

Aside from that point, the film's story is the main point of interest. But there isn't much to glean from the anime TV shows, movies, or comics since there are too many stories eligible for adaptation. It's possible that the film will draw inspiration from the original anime, but that's something fans will just have to wait and see. As for the live-action bit, it will be interesting to see what Legendary does this time around, considering their irregular success with properties such as Pacific Rim and Warcraft, among other things. They certainly have the capability of launching a full-fledged Gundam movie franchise, that's for sure, but whether or not they're able to succeed in their endeavor is something else entirely.

More: Gundam Wing: 15 Things You Never Knew About Heero Yuy

Source: Legendary Entertainment

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