Talks of a live-action "Robotech" reboot has been circling Hollywood as early as 2006 with Warner Bros. as the production company in charge of the project. At one point the rumors attached Tobey Maguire's name to the franchise, even Leonardo DiCaprio back in 2013.
But finally it seems that the beloved 80's anime series if finally making its way to the big screen, as reported in this exclusive from Deadline.
"Robotech" is getting produced by the Warner Bros. based Hollywood Gang, with Mark Canton and Gianni Nunnari on producer duties and "300" and "G.I. Joe: Rise of The Cobra" writer Michael Gordon to pen the script. The article also claims that "Mama" director Andy Muschietti is the top choice to helm the project.
Originally known in Japan as "The Macross Saga," "Robotech" is a long-time anime science fiction TV series that was produced by Harmony Gold USA in cooperation with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first aired in the United States in 1985 and ran 85 episodes.
The series' content was adapted and edited for US television from three different anime: "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross," "Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross" and "Genesis Climber MOSPEADA."
The first war in "Robotech" began when an alien starship crash lands on earth. The humans rebuild the alien ship while studying their technology along the way. A race of giant alien warriors called the Zentraedi are sent to earth to retrieve the missing ship. A battle ensues between the alien race and humans; the earth almost gets completely annihilated but in the end the humans emerge as victors defeating the Zentraedi.
As a result, humanity learns about an energy source known as protoculture.
The main protagonist's name is Rick Hunter. In the first war, Hunter came to Macross island in 2009 as a visitor to watch the launching of the Zentraedi alien starship that was renamed to SDF-1. Roy Fokker, who Rick sees as his "big brother" get in the middle of a firefight when the Zentraedi showed up at the launching, intending on reclaiming their ship. Young Rick Hunter engages the alien race and gets his first experience of combat.
Warner Bros. "Robotech" joins Dreamworks' "Ghost In The Shell" as Hollywood adaptations of anime's originally from Japan.
