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© Sunrise, Legendary
Entertainment news website Deadline reported on Thursday that the latest incarnation of Sunrise and Legendary Pictures’ live-action Gundam film project has cast Gemma Chua-Tran (Heartbreak High).
Deadline also reported that production will start filming in Australia next month.
Deadline previously reported that Netflix “is on board to distribute” the film. Deadline’s reports also list Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Immaculate), Noah Centineo (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Street Fighter), Michael Mando (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Orphan Black, Better Call Saul), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool, live-action Detective Conan, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Neko Atsume House) as on board to star in the film. (Sweeney was reportedly still in final talks in March 2025, and Deadline similarly reported in November that Centineo was in talks to join the film. The website previously revealed Jason Clarke (A House of Dynamite, Oppenheimer, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) on the project, but it has since reported that he has left it.)
Bandai Namco Holdings USA Inc. established a wholly-owned subsidiary named Bandai Namco Filmworks America, LLC in April 2025, under the control of Bandai Namco Filmworks. The new subsidiary’s goal is to expand foreign licensing business and brand management, ahead of the planned live-action film. Bandai Namco Filmworks and Legendary Pictures signed a joint investment agreement for the film in January.
Deadline reported in October 2024 that Jim Mickle (Sweet Tooth showrunner) is writing and directing the film. Mickle is also producing the film with partner Linda Moran through their Nightshade company.
Netflix had announced in November 2021 that it would stream an earlier version of the project worldwide and had shared concept art. It had announced Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) as the director and an executive producer for the film at the time, and Deadline previously reported that comic book author Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways) would write the script and serve as an executive producer. Makoto Asanuma was previously credited as an executive producer. Mary Parent (vice chair of Worldwide Production for Legendary), Legendary’s Cale Boyter (Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Dune producer), and Sunrise’s Naohiro Ogata were listed to produce.
Napton and Sunrise Executive Expert for film production Ken Iyadomi revealed at a talk at a Project Anime industry presentation in March 2019, that the Gundam Unicorn’s cameo in Pacific Rim: Uprising helped create the relationships between Sunrise and Legendary Pictures, and set the scene for talks about a Gundam film project. Iyadomi said that although contacting the right people for the deal was difficult, the CEO of Sunrise was very easy to convince. Another factor that made the negotiations easier was that Legendary had less people, so decisions could be made quicker.
Boyter appeared with Bandai Namco Holdings president and representative director Mitsuaki Taguchi at Anime Expo in July 2018 to announce the adaptation. Robert Napton, former Bandai Entertainment Director of Marketing and Legendary Comics’ current Senior Vice President of Publishing, moderated the panel segment about the live-action film project.
The “Gundam Franchise’s New Work Unveiling” event in April 2018 had listed a tentatively titled Mobile Suit Gundam UC2 (Kidō Senshi Gundam UC2) project that would have an “overseas drama” format. The listing said the project takes place in Universal Calendar 0104 and would launch in 2022. After showing the listing at the April 2018 event, the Sunrise Studio’s emcee and one of the event’s guests, Gundam Unicorn novelist Harutoshi Fukui, quickly told the audience to “pretend you didn’t see that” visual.
Source: Deadline (Rosy Cordero)
Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.
