'Mobile Suit Gundam' Announces Surprising Live-Action Venture

It looks like Gundam is eyeing a live-action future these days. Recently, theaters saw the mecha [...]

By Megan Peters

It looks like Gundam is eyeing a live-action future these days. Recently, theaters saw the mecha franchise toe into films like Ready Player One and Pacific Rim Uprising. Now, it seems the mecha-centric frnachise is about to embark on a live-action venture of its own, but it isn't meant for the screen.

No, it seems like Mobile Suit Gundam is about to make its live-action break on the stage.

According to recent reports, Mobile Suit Gundam will get a stage play adaptation in the coming months. February 2019 will see the franchise hit the stage for an IRL romp. The adaptation will bring Mobile Suit Gundam 00 to the live-action world as the acclaimed series just celebrated its 10-year-anniversary.

Of course, fans do have some questions about this live-action stint. Mobile Suit Gundam hasn't really produced any projects of the nature in the past. A couple years ago, a Japanese media studio did create an avant-garde Gundam project. The fictitious documentary told the story of the One Year War, and Sunrise did host the limited live-action venture on its site. However, that is as far as the franchise's live-action roots go.

Not only will this stage play introduce a new storytelling medium to the franchise, but it may open doors to future live-action ventures. In the past, Hollywood has tried to get an adaptation of the mecha series going, but Sunrise did not let Lionsgate continue with those plans. Following the franchise's beloved cameo in Ready Player One, the team behind Gundam may be ready to reconsider its live-action prospects for the big screen. And, if this intriguing stage play shows the series can be done in real life, then the stars are the limit for the sci-fi franchise.

If you want to learn more about Mobile Suit Gundam 00 before its play drops, then you can check out its synopsis below:

"The year is 2307 A.D. While the Earth's reserves of fossil fuels have been depleted, humanity has obtained a new nearly infinite source of energy to replace them, in the form of large-scale solar powered generation systems based on three huge orbital elevators. However, the benefits of this system are available only to a handful of major powers and their allies. These orbital elevators belong to three superpower blocs: the Union, a coalition of free nations led by the United States of America; the Human Reform League, a socialist group led by China, Russia and India; and the AEU, a parliamentary organization led by the nations of continental Europe.

These confederations continue to play a grand zero-sum game for the sake of their own prestige and prosperity. Thus, even in the 24th Century, humanity has yet to unite as one. In this world of unceasing conflict, a private armed organization steps forward, declaring their intention to the eliminate war through martial force. Using the power of their mobile suits combatively, a series of four high-performance machines each dubbed "Gundam", the paramilitary organization known as Celestial Being takes the world-stage beginning armed interventions within all the world's nations."

Did you see this project coming? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

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