After being tasked to write the screenplay for it back in 2011, Christopher McQuarrie is now set as the director for the live action adaptation of Star Blazers. The feature, which is being done through Skydance Productions, is looking to take this property into franchise material and make something larger with it. McQuarrie, Josh Klein, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg will produce, and Shouji Nizhizaki and Paul Schwake will be exec producers.
McQuarrie has a few directorial credits to his name with the 2012 Jack Reacher and he’s set to direct Mission: Impossible 5 for 2015.
Skydance Productions is based out of Paramount’s lot and began back in 2006 with a co-production deal with the studio. They’ve produced some strong films in the last few years, with the 2011 Mission: Impossible – Ghost Production and Star Trek Into Darkness while also seeing success with World War Z, of which they’re making more. They’re also involved in the Jack Ryan reboot along with Terminator getting off the ground again.
Plot concept: In the futuristic Star Blazers, Earth’s atmosphere has been obliterated by a distant alien race, and the survivors have one year before radiation will reach their underground refuge and wipe out the human race. The survivors get a shot of hope in the form of alien technology that can deliver a small crew across the universe and back with the means to stave off extinction.
[Source: Deadline]
Forgive me for being skeptical about any Hollywood attempt at adapting an anime into a live-action movie given its track record. Personally, I’d prefer this movie stay in the vapour where it’s resided since 1999. Having a guy at the helm who cast Tom Cruise to play Jack Reacher doesn’t inspire confidence either. Besides, Space Battleship Yamato 2199 has set a benchmark for the Yamato/Star Blazers property that no live-action movie could hope to come close to accomplishing.
Also, it’s Shouji Nishizaki, not Nizhizaki. As in the son of Space Battleship Yamato producer Yoshinobu and current rights holder to the Yamato franchise.