Joe Russo Shares Update on Battle of the Planets Movie

Battle of the Planets remains a classic cartoon for fans around the world, and its anime origins will come to life in theaters under the eye of Joe and Anthony Russo. The brothers are responsible for bringing epics like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame to life, but their eyes are set on anime now. Battle of the Planets, which began in Japan as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, holds a special place in the Russo Brothers' hearts. And to do the show justice, Joe has updated fans on the long process he and his brother have taken to adapt the series.

Speaking with Collider, Joe opened up about his current work on Battle of the Planets. The director-producer said he and his brother are in a sort of incubation period where they're dissecting all the pieces of the show which intrigues them. Those elements will be further refined into content for the Russo Brothers' film which they first announced last year at San Diego Comic-Con.

"We're in what we call the development phase. The way we work, we do what we call IP Incubation, and it is a protracted process. We have to take something like Battle of the Planets, take it through a filter, find out what it is that we loved most about that show growing up, reinterpret it - because it is not going to be an exact adaptation of the series," Joe said.

"It's going to be our own story to tell surrounding a group of genetically altered kids who are involved in a space war."

Continuing, the producer explained the three steps he and his brother follow to make a story. From affirming lore to inspiring a script, Battle of the Planets has some more work to do before the Russo Brothers are good to move the adaptation along.

"That is the approach we take, and that can take months of gestating and trying to figure out what the new mythology is. Then we commit that to a bible and from that bible we do some artwork as exploration. Once we have artwork which we're inspired by, we write the script. So we're at the Bible phase of Battle of the Planets."

For now, there is no word on when the Russo Brothers will tighten up their story's lore, but excitement is high for the adaptation. Anime adaptations have gotten a bad reputation in Hollywood, but audiences trust these Marvel Studios legends to turn things around. And if there is one sci-fi franchise capable of changing our minds, it would be Battle of the Planets.

What do you make of this process? Do you have faith in the Russo Brothers to do this anime justice? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!