Sony Acquires, Will Develop Live-Action Adaptation of 'Robotech' Anime Series

Sony Pictures has secured rights to the classic anime series Robotech which it plans to soon develop into a potential film franchise. According to the studio, Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton will be producing while Michael Gordon will be writing the script for a live-action adaptation of the series. The project will be overseen at Sony Pictures by Sony Pictures Entertainment Group President Doug Belgrad, Columbia Pictures Production Chief Michael De Luca, and Sony Pictures Vice President of Creative Production Matthew Milam.

The Robotech anime series, which aired during the 1980s, is set at a time when Earth has developed giant robots from the technology on an alien spacecraft that crashed on a South Pacific isle. Mankind is forced to use the technology to fend off three successive waves of alien invasions. The first invasion concerns a battle with a race of giant warriors who seek to retrieve their flagship's energy source known as "protoculture," and the planet's survival ends up in the hands of two young pilots.

In the studio's press release, De Luca said: "Robotech is unique in that it has always been a marriage of spectacle with human characters that seem drawn from life. That's why we are so excited to be working with Mark and Gianni as we move forward on this project. With a history that offers an epic love triangle, a renegade hero, and a world on the brink of extinction, Robotech offers a wide scope and a rich and impressive universe where the story possibilities are endless."

Nunnari added: "When the rights to Robotech became available we jumped. Mark and I knew it had what big movies in today's world must have if they want to grab everyone: insane visuals AND powerful themes. The characters in Robotech wrestle with both the destructive and redemptive powers of technology; nothing is more relevant today than that."

Canton continued: "I'm thrilled to be back in business with Sony Pictures and Gianni and I look forward to working with the studio on this global franchise-driven opportunity. Robotech is a very significant and legendary part of the growth of anime into the force that it is today, and we're excited to be adapting it for modern audiences."