Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has been tapped to direct an upcoming live-action film based on the Gundam anime and model franchise.
According to Netflix, Vogt-Roberts will be directing and producing a film in collaboration with Sunrise for their Mobile Suit Gundam mecha franchise. Vogt-Roberts is largely known for his work on Kong: Skull Island.
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.
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) April 12, 2021
Vogt-Roberts is also reportedly working on a live action Metal Gear film and has appeared at E3 before with series creator Hideo Kojima.
The Gundam franchise began in the the 1970s as a “Space Opera” featuring the pilots of large mechas called “Mobile Suits”. The franchise has gone on to spawn multiple anime series, films, and of course a collection of model kits for just about every Mobile Suit there is.
Netflix has a spotty history with live-action adaptations of anime with titles like Full Metal Alchemist and Death Note as some of the films they’ve produced. Although without some of the wackier trappings of anime, it might be possible to create decent Gundam film. Pacific Rim proved that.
It’s unknown at the time of publishing what the plot for the live-action Gundam film could be, or even if it’s an original story and not just a retelling of a previous anime or film.
We’ll keep you up to date here at Nicchiban as details are forthcoming.
Image: YouTube