Mobile Suit Gundam has been in the headlines as of late thanks to Hollywood. The industry is working on a live-action adaptation of the anime, but when it comes to purists, they want nothing more than to see the next anime film. After all, Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway is not out yet, and it was just delayed yet again.
The news went live on Twitter following a recent extension of Japan’s state of emergency. Select cities are still under the ruling due to COVID-19 infection rates, and they include areas like Tokyo and Kyoto. Of course, this has put a halt on theater showings, and the team behind Hathaway aren’t wanting to sacrifice any box office revenue.
Videos by ComicBook.com
According to a new report by GundamArt, Hathaway is being delayed once more in Japan. The update suggests the movie is abandoning its release date for May 21 and has yet to nab a new date. This is not the first time Hathaway has been pushed back, but if fans are lucky, it will be the last.
At first, Hathaway was meant to debut in July 2020 but was forced out of the date due to COVID-19. The pandemic pushed the Gundam title to May 7, 2021, before moving once more to May 21. And now, it seems Hathaway is being removed from the film slate entirely as the pandemic continues to grow in Asia.
This decision comes as Japan faces its latest wave of COVID-19. The nation’s weekly average is over 6,000 at this point as hospitals are becoming overcrowded in areas like Osaka. The vaccination efforts in Japan are surprisingly slow with less than 3% of the country now vaccinated. States of emergency are set in most metropolitan areas, and even the Olympics are being scrutinized ahead of their summer debut.
Want to know more about Hathaway? You can find the Gundam movie’s official synopsis below:
“U.C. 0105 – twelve years after the Second Neo Zeon War, the peace on Earth and its colonies is disrupted by “Mafty”, a terrorist organization bent on preventing the Earth Federation from privatizing the Earth to the privileged. Leading Mafty is Hathaway Noa, son of celebrated Federation Captain Bright Noa and pilot of the experimental RX-105 ฮ Gundam.”
What do you think of this latest delay? Do you think Gundam will get this movie out ahead of the summer? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.