According to Deadline, Netflix will be the streaming home for the upcoming live-action Gundam movie. The film will feature Sydney Sweeney, known for Euphoria, and Noah Centineo, from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Jim Mickle, who created the popular Netflix series Sweet Tooth, is writing and directing. Legendary Pictures and Bandai Namco Filmworks, the owner of the Gundam franchise, are producing the movie. As of now, neither Legendary Pictures nor Netflix has officially confirmed this news.
The popular anime series Gundam is becoming a live-action movie for the first time. Starting in 1979 with Mobile Suit Gundam, the franchise has become a hugely influential science fiction property, known for its giant robot battles. It’s one of the biggest names in the ‘mecha’ genre globally, earning around $600 million each year from merchandise. The story is set in the future, where humans live in space, and a war has broken out between Earth and the space colonies, fought using massive robots. Currently, no details about the movie’s plot or the roles of the actors Sweeney and Centieno have been announced, nor has a production start date been revealed.
‘Gundam’s Development History
Lionsgate
Netflix’s deal for Gundam feels significant considering the project’s troubled history. Back in 2021, Netflix planned a live-action Gundam movie with director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, but the film stalled. By 2024, Jim Meckle had taken over as director and writer, and there was talk of Sweeney joining the cast in 2025, but it seemed like Netflix had abandoned the idea. Now, five years later, Netflix is revisiting Gundam.
It’s surprising that Paramount Skydance, despite a recent multi-picture deal with Legendary Pictures starting in 2025, decided not to pursue the Gundam project. It’s unknown whether Netflix, which initially developed it, still held the rights, or if Paramount and Skydance were even offered the chance to take it on. Currently, Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison is focused on acquiring Warner Bros. and reviving popular franchises like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek, and Transformers. Gundam seemed like a good fit for these plans, but the studio has now allowed its main competitor in the Warner Bros. deal to acquire it.
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Netflix seems to be making a big investment with the upcoming Gundam series, likely due to the growing popularity of anime on the platform. Casting well-known actors like Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo is probably a strategic move to boost viewership. A key question is whether Gundam will get a traditional theatrical release – something Netflix intends to offer for Warner Bros. films if the acquisition goes through – or if that plan only applies to films not created directly by Netflix.
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2026-01-28 22:20