James Wan To Direct ROBOTECH?
Furious 7 director James Wan is in negotiations with Sony to direct the big-screen adaptation of Robotech, according to Deadline.
Wan’s entry into the Fast and Furious franchise has brought in $1.3 billion worldwide, and the director is now the front-runner to helm what Sony plans as another franchise. Robotech is based on the 1980s science fiction anime series. Combining three short-run anime series — Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA — the title of the series came after a co-licensing agreement between TV production company Harmony Gold and model kit manufacturer Revell. Revell had been producing a series of models based on several anime series, all released under the blanket Robotech Defenders banner. When Harmony Gold bought the TV distribution rights to Macross, they ran afoul of Revell’s marketing plans, and the two companies found a compromise that spawned the Robotech title.
Wan is already set to direct The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist, which will shoot in fall 2015. This is the second installment in what Warner Bros. and New Line hope is another franchise. Plus, the director is an early favorite to take on the solo Aquaman entry in the DC Cinematic Universe.
The story followed various invasions of Earth by extra-terrestrials, fought off by mankind and their development of robot technology called “mecha” — based on alien technology that had fallen to Earth. The three Robotech Wars are covered in The Macross Saga, The Masters, and The New Generation.
Robotech introduced an entire generation to anime and the distinctive style of Japanese animated storytelling. Together with Star Blazers, Akira, and Battle of the Planets, anime became a highly popular form of entertainment in the 1980s. The Robotech reboot has been in development since Warner Bros. first acquired the rights in 2007. Sony picked up the rights in 2015.
