During a special screening of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom in Japan this week, director Mitsuo Fukuda made the surprise announcement that a new Mobile Suit Gundam project is in the works. Also shared on social media, the new anime project is titled Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom Zero.
The post confirms that Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom Zero will act as a prequel to Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom, which was released in theaters earlier this year. It will also serve as a sequel to 2004's Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny.
Not much else is known about the new project, including the medium for which it will be told. It was originally intended to be an OVA, but Mitsuo Fukuda stated it "has not been decided." We could get more clarification soon though.
"A special teaser video will be released at the end of the second special edition screening of the film," the announcement post reads. "Please look forward to further updates."
While the latest announcement came as a surprise it probably shouldn't have been to unexpected given how successful Gundam Seed Freedom was in theaters.
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom opened in theaters in Japan on January 26, 2024, before making its way to North American theaters in May. It became the fastest film in Japan to break the one million yen mark. It sold 630,000 tickets and earned 1.06 Billion Yen (about $7.2M) in its first three days, making it the highest three-day opening ever for a Gundam movie. It is now also the highest-grossing Gundam film ever.
In C.E.75, the fighting still continues. There are independence movements, and aggression by Blue Cosmos... In order to calm the situation, a global peace monitoring agency called COMPASS is established, with Lacus as its first president. As members of COMPASS, Kira and his comrades intervene into various regional battles. Then a newly established nation called Foundation proposes a joint operation against a Blue Cosmos stronghold.
We're currently in the middle of the 45th-anniversary celebration of the Gundam franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise pioneered the mecha genre. The Mobile Suit Gundam TV series debuted in 1979, throwing giant robots into a militaristic setting. The popularity of the series helped spawn an entire franchise that now includes 50 TV series, films, and OVAs as well as manga, novels, and video games.
In addition to this new project, we recently got news that the live-action Gundam movie has finally found its director in Jim Mickle (Sweet Tooth). The upcoming film, first announced back in 2018 by Legendary Entertainment, is also no longer attached to Netflix.