Movies

Live-Action 'Gundam' Movie Is Coming To Netflix With Jordan Vogt-Roberts Directing

gundam live-action movie
By Hoai-Tran Bui/

Time to get in the robot: a Gundam live-action movie is coming to Netflix. Legendary is developing a live-action Gundam feature film, which will be steered by Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. It will stream exclusively on Netflix.

Netflix announced that Jordan Vogt-Roberts will direct and produce a Gundam live-action movie from Legendary Pictures, based on the beloved mecha-anime franchise.

"Grab your Mobile suits! Jordan Vogt-Roberts has been set to direct and produce Legendary's first-ever live-action feature film version of Sunrise's GUNDAM for Netflix," the streamer announced on Twitter.

There are currently limited details about the project, which is operating under the working title GUNDAM. Brian K. Vaugh (Y: The Last Man, Runaways) is writing the screenplay and will also act as an executive producer, reports IGN. He's also joined by Cale Boyter who will oversee the project on behalf of Legendary and original Gundam studio, Sunrise. Jason Young, director of Original Film at Netflix, will also oversee the project. The movie will stream globally on Netflix, except China where Legendary will distribute it. There is no set release date yet.

Go-go Gundam? I've never watched a single Gundam property (I've only seen one mecha anime, and it's Neon Genesis Evangelion, which doesn't really count because it's actually about depression), but it's wildly popular and has been for decades. The first Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam, was created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and is considered a seminal anime classic. The franchise has been onscreen in some form of another since Mobile Suit Gundam's debut in 1979, with numerous spin-offs released by Sunrise and partners, such as Iron Blooded Orphans, Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, Gundam Unicorn, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Mobile Suit Gundam, and many, many more. There's even been a live-action movie before: the 1999 Canadian live-action TV film G-Saviour. Gundam is considered a Japanese institution: Gundam models and figurines are still some of Bandai's most popular, and a life-sized Unicorn Gundam currently stands in Tokyo.

All that being said, this is not a surprising acquisition on Netflix's part. The streaming giant has been trying to corner the anime market for years, producing dozens of its own original animes (to varying degrees of success) and becoming the streaming home for popular classics like the aforementioned Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's even had a brush with one of Legendary's kaiju properties before, offering to buy Godzilla vs. Kong for $200 million before WarnerMedia blocked the decision.

We'll learn more about GUNDAM in the coming months.

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