Anime was announced during Gundam Seed FREEDOM special screening in November 2024
Bandai Namco Filmworks board director and producer Naohiro Ogata announced during the “Gundam Conference Spring 2026” livestream event on Friday that Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO, the prequel to the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM anime film, will be released in theaters.
Image courtesy of Sunrise
© Sunrise
A teaser video had announced the prequel when it debuted during the second round of special edition screenings for Gundam Seed FREEDOM in Japanese theaters in November 2024.
Director Mitsuo Fukuda, producer Hisakazu Naka, and Sōichirō Hoshi, voice of Kira Yamato, appeared at a stage greeting during the first screening announcing the prequel. They revealed that screenwriter Chiaki Morosawa and Shigeru Morita wrote the prequel’s scenario while planning for Gundam Seed Freedom itself. In addition, Fukuda stated that the script for Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO was completed 20 years ago.
Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO’s storyboards were nearly half finished, and the oldest storyboards actually predate those of Gundam Seed Freedom itself. The dialogue recording has also already been completed. Fukuda added that 20 years ago, Gundam Seed FREEDOM ZERO was originally planned as an original video anime (OVA), but the staff has not yet decided how it will be presented now.
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM opened in Japan in January 2024. The film debuted at #1 in the Japanese box office. It sold 634,182 tickets for 1,065,983,130 yen (about US$7.20 million) in its first three days, marking the Gundam franchise’s highest three-day opening in box office earnings. The film is the highest-earning Gundam film in Japan ever.
Bandai Namco Filmworks and Fathom Events screened the film in the United States and Canada in May 2024. Netflix is streaming the film.
Special editions of the film screened in theaters in Japan in fall 2024. One version played with footage added to the end. Another special edition had different footage added (specifically, the above-mentioned teaser video).
Fukuda directed the film at Bandai Namco Filmworks. Fukuda also co-wrote the script along with his late wife Chiaki Morosawa and Liu Goto. Hisashi Hirai (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) designed the characters.
Source: Gundam Conference Spring 2026 livestream
Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. (Sunrise) is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.
