Netflix Gundam Movie Gets Official: Here's What We Know

A live-action Gundam movie is coming to Netflix, with the Legendary Pictures and Sunrise tapping Jordan Vogt-Roberts to produce and direct the hotly-anticipated movie. Responsible for "Kong: Skull Island" and "The Kings of Summer," Vogt-Roberts will work with scriptwriter and executive producer Brian J. Vaughan, best known for "Y: The Last Man" and "Ex Machina."

Netflix will have global streaming rights to the movie, in all territories bar China. There, Legendary plans to distribute the movie theatrically, it confirmed today.

So far, no tidbits on the actual storyline of the movie are being shared. Instead, Netflix points back to the original plot line of the Gundam series, which first began in 1979. It centered on the Universal Century, where émigrés of Earth have set up home on space colonies, and decide to declare independence from their origin planet.

That prompts wars between the colonists and Earth, featuring the iconic "Mecha" robot suits which feature in no shortage of battles. Other previous series have adopted alternative timelines, including documenting parallel universes, so it's entirely possible that Vogt-Roberts and Vaughan could venture further afield than what current Gundam fans are familiar with in the name of telling a different story.

The appeal of the franchise is unmistakable, and there's no doubt it's been a profitable venture for Sunrise. Gundam spawned not only several TV series and animated movies, but a whole host of toys and collectables, pre-made and kit-assembly, which continue to be in hot demand. Full-sized Gundam statues have even been built in Japan.

This new movie will be Legendary's first live-action feature film version of Gundam. The collaboration between Legendary and Sunrise was first announced at the 2018 Anime Expo, and Vaughan's involvement was confirmed. There's no word on when it might be expected to hit your set-top box of choice, nor if the director has any casting in mind at this stage.