The Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 is definitely a classic for a number of reasons and we’ve seen a number of attempts over the years to figure out how to bring it to live-action in Hollywood. It’s one of a few of the classics from this time that have been kicking around.
When you can throw some Netflix money at it, it looks like it’ll happen according to the tweet from the company below. We learned back in April 2021 that it’s going to be produced by Legendary Pictures with Jordan Vogt-Roberts set to direct it. He has a smaller set of credits overall, debuting in film with 2013’s well-received The Kings of Summer and then 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. He’s currently co-written the Metal Gear Solid film story with Derek Connolly and is set to direct that project as well.
While it’s been a bit quiet since then, Vogt-Roberts has now had a new two-minute video come out that’s streamed through the official Gundam site that has him talking about how long he’s been a fan and how much he’s looking forward to it. Some of it feels like it’s a “getting ahead of things” kind of video to ensure fans that a “real fan” is behind the project as he brings out some of the things he bought in the 90s, but Vogt-Roberts definitely has the geek cred down over the past decade to not have to flex too much on this. But for some, it’s likely a welcome nod to his past that will reassure a little until we get some actual footage and material.
The series ran from 1979 into 1980 and started a long and generally healthy career for the franchise across numerous reinterpretations and spinoffs. The series was compiled into a group of three films which have largely been considered superior to the TV series by removing the fluff. The show was previously licensed and released in the US through the now-defunct Bandai Entertainment and has since been released by Nozomi Entertainment.
Plot Concept: Universal Century 0079. The rebel space colonies of the Principality of Zeon launch a war of independence against the Earth Federation, using humanoid fighting vehicles called mobile suits to overwhelm the Federation Forces and conquer half of Earth’s surface. Months later, the Federation has finally developed its own prototype mobile suits at a remote space colony. But when the colony suffers a Zeon surprise attack, these new weapons fall into the hands of a motley crew of civilians and cadets, and fate places a youth named Amuro Ray at the controls of the white mobile suit Gundam…
