The Live-Action Gundam Movie Has Gone Back to the Drawing Board

It’s been a hot minute since we heard anything about Legendary’s plans to turn Mobile Suit Gundam into a live-action movie, and it turns out, there’s been good reason. The project has been rebooted, with a new director and seemingly no longer with the involvement of Netflix (which has enough bad Gundam to deal with lately).

Deadline reports that previous director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and the streamer are no longer involved with Legendary’s Gundam, but the film isn’t entirely dead. Jim Mickle, best known for his recent adaptation of Sweet Tooth (at Netflix, funnily enough), will now write and direct the film, as well as produce it alongside his partner Linda Moran through their production company Nightshade. The film will now enter production in early 2025.

Little is still known about the approach the Gundam movie will take, other than it being the first live-action film in the venerable anime franchise since the disastrous G-Saviour. Whether the narrative will adapt the original Earth Federation vs. secessionist space colony war of Yoshiyuki Tomino’s original 1979 classic, or one of the myriad other alternate timelines and continuities in the 45-year-old series, or even do its own thing entirely, remains to be seen. We had previously seen concept art of a heavily damaged, modernized take on the original RX-78-2 Gundam, and Vogt-Roberts had spoken at length in recent years about his passion for the series, so losing his involvement is potentially not-ideal for fans already wary about a Western approach to the series.

We’ll bring you more on Legendary’s plans for Gundam as and when we learn them.

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