Movie News: Gatchaman

mrfusion

"Gatchaman" CG Feature Film Lawsuit Settled

(crunchyroll.com) IMAGI, who developed the CG 2009 Astro Boy and 2007 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as co-producing the Highlander Search for Vengeance anime feature, have formally ended plans to produce a CG adaptation of action sci-fi anime Science Ninja Team Gatchaman as of October 15th. Gatchaman producer Tatsunoku Production have now announced the dissolution of the business agreement between them and IMAGI International Holdings.

The project was first announced in 2006 with plans for a 2008 release in conjuction with Warner Brothers. The project was delayed until 2009 while IMAGI developed TMNT and Astro Boy. After the latter flopped, it was determined that IMAGI did not have the financial resources to make Gatchaman and the studio cancelled the project in June 2011. Tatsunoko then sued IMAGI to reclaim Gatchaman rights.

With the lawsuit settled, Tatsunoko is clear for their plans to work with Nikkatsu Corporation on a live action feature scheduled to hit Japan this summer.

LibraryBoy

Bummer, though the idea of a live action movie is exciting. I'd see that in a heartbeat

And I keep hoping one of the streaming services will pick up the original series to show. Original with subtitles, the ADV dubs, Battle of the Planets (cheesy and often contrary to the original as it is)... something!

mrfusion

I remember watching Battle of the Planets (G-Force) as a kid and always wondering why the bad guy wore lipstick..... Maybe the original series would explain that?

Torchsong

I'm all over this. Gatchaman *was* my gateway drug into anime. One, they had a fat guy on the team. Two, they had a cool bird theme going. Three, Jun and that skirt of impossibility (hey I was young and just figuring out women weren't the enemy). Four, the stuff they had to fight, from Spectra to the giant beasts he employed.

If they can keep all those elements intact, I'll most likely love this movie!

nweathington

I woke up earlier on Saturday morning than I did on school mornings just so I could see Battle of the Planets. Hopefully the live action film will live up to the anime.

LibraryBoy

mrfusion said:

I remember watching Battle of the Planets (G-Force) as a kid and always wondering why the bad guy wore lipstick..... Maybe the original series would explain that?

I've read that this kinda/sorta gets explained in the last episode of the series, which was never dubbed as part of BotP. WAY too much death and gender-bending for 7-Zark-7 to ever explain away (remember, if planes beat back Spectra ships, they were brave human pilots; when Spectra wins, the planes were always robot drones!).