The anime industry has seemingly seen a substantial spike in viewership in recent years as it becomes an increasingly popular form of media amongst American consumers. This is, arguably, driven principally by the extensive amount of Japanese anime currently in production, with popular shows such as One Piece and Naruto each eclipsing 500 episodes and films like Akira being regarded amongst the greatest movies of all time. A show that helped incite the overwhelming wave of anime in Japan in the latter half of the twentieth century was Gundam, a military sci-fi anime that debuted in 1979 and has stayed relevant for over forty years now. While countless episodes and numerous television specials have aired over the course of the past four decades, it looks like the wildly popular anime series is ready to take the next step: Gundam is set to be adapted into a full feature live-action film in partnership with Netflix.
Netflix promised early in the year a plethora of content throughout the course of 2021, and they are continuing to deliver. For their next helping of original content, they are turning towards anime and, more specifically, the iconic Japanese anime series Gundam to do it: the streaming giant announced via their @NXonNetflix account that they will be working alongside Legendary Entertainment to produce the next installment of the Gundam franchise. They also noted that Jordan Vogt-Roberts will be donning the director’s chair, notable for his work as director on 2013’s Kings of Summer and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Any other details regarding either cast & crew or the plot remain under wraps as the production is clearly in its infantile stages.
Given the overwhelming popularity of anime previously discussed, Gundam is not the only anime project Netflix is currently embarking on. They are additionally producing two anime series with LaKeith Stanfield and Keanu Reeves attached to either, two high profile names that simply further highlight Netflix’s investment into the genre as a whole. Vogt-Roberts should be a strong candidate to direct as well given his familiarity with larger than life battles, his work on Kong: Skull Island being the prime example, only further boasting the potential of this upcoming project. While no official timeline for the film’s production and release has been announced yet, anime fans can remain eager about the project’s impending release sooner or later.
