Yesterday, Netflix confirmed that filming on the live-action Gundam film has officially commenced in Queensland, Australia.
The mecha anime adaptation will be led by Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The Housemaid) and Noah Centineo (Street Fighter, The Recruit).
Jim Mickle (Sweet Tooth, Cold in July) is directing the pic. The project is a collaboration between Netflix, Legendary Pictures and Bandai Namco.
Per Netflix's press release, the upcoming film is set to be an original story so Gundam fans shouldn't expect a 1:1 adaptation of G Gundam, Gundam Wing or Iron-Blooded Orphans.
An official synopsis for the project reads, "Netflix's Gundam bring the defining mech franchise to life with an original story that follows rival mech pilots fighting on opposite sides of decades-long war between Earth and its space former colonies. As shifting allegiances and a growing threat set them on a collision course for one another, they’re pulled into a high-stakes race across the stars that could define the fate of humanity. With awe-inspiring battles, intimate human emotion, and an epic cinematic scale, this is Gundam like it’s been seen before."
However, that description definitely sounds as if the series will take its cues from the Original Series (Universal Century) chapter of the franchise, which tells a multi-generational military conflict between those who live on Earth (Earth Federation) and those who have migrated to space colonies (Spacenoids, usually led by Zeon).
The Earth Federation holds authority over all of humanity, but its rule is far from even-handed. It largely views the space colonies as little more than resource hubs to be exploited, rather than independent or equal partners.
In response, many within the colonies see things very differently. They believe humanity should fully abandon a heavily polluted Earth, allowing the planet to recover on its own. In their view, only after that long period of healing should Earth be repopulated.
In addition to Sweeney and Centenio, the full cast includes Jackson White (Tell Me Lies), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool & Wolverine), Nonso Anozie (Sweet Tooth), Michael Mando (Better Call Saul), and Javon “Wanna” Walton (Under the Bridge).
Also appearing are Oleksandr Rudynskyi (The Agency), Ida Brooke (Dune: Part Three), Gemma Chua-Tran (Heartbreak High), and Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus).