Robotech Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It was just last week that anime fans the world over breathed a sigh of relief that Leonardo DiCaprio's live-action Akira was no more. But, that doesn't mean Hollywood has lost its taste for anime, and there are still plenty of other reboots headed our way. So while most of them have stayed in development limbo, two of the more popular titles: Cowboy Bebop and Robotech have started to make new ground, and some of the people involved are starting to talk.

Cowboy Bebop:
When the live action film of the beloved anime was first announced, fans were not thrilled with the idea. Plus, it probably didn't help that Keanu Reeves was taking the role of Spike. But, maybe we shouldn't count out the film yet, because when it comes to the film's screenwriter, there is good news and some bad news. But, let's start with the good news. In an interview with Anime Vice, Craig was asked about whether or not he was familiar with the series, and to his credit, Craig went into full fan-boy mode, telling them about some of his favorite episodes and that both he and Reeves have been meeting with Sunrise studio (the creator of the anime) to make sure that the original 'feel' of the show remains intact. According to Craig, "they [Sunrise] were very specific about their vision for the series, and how it might convert to a live-action film." -- sounds promising, right? Well, the bad news is that Craig has zero experience with sci-fi, and made his name writing about con-men and dysfunctional families. But, I'm going to remain hopeful that with Sunrise watching over the flick, there might be a chance we get something a little better than expected.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

You probably remember that a little over a year ago, the news hit that Leonardo DiCaprio would be producing a live action version of the beloved anime, Akira, and as to be expected, fans were peeved. Within minutes, comment boards (including ours) were jammed with cries of white-washing, racism, and general predictions of overall crappiness. But, if you happen to have been one of those fans crying for blood; I've got some good news for you. Bloody Disgusting now reports that the live-action Akira has been pronounced "Dead as a doornail" by not one, but two inside sources -- I guess we should have seen this coming when the film was promised to be released in 2009, and there wasn't a signed cast member in sight.

For those not familiar with Akira, it was the story of a teen biker gang member who is subjected to government experiments and unleashes destruction on a post-nuclear Tokyo. Ruairi Robinson had originally been slated to direct a script by Gary Whitta (Book of Eli), but DiCaprio had promised that they wouldn't be moving ahead with Akira until they had a quality script, so maybe Whitta could have been the source of the delay. Either way, I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief that Tetsuo and the gang are safe from the monster known as 'reboot fever'...at least for now, anyway.

After the jump; status reports on other classic anime in line for a Hollywood makeover...

Is there room in Hollywood for more than one giant robot franchise? Well, Warner Bros. certainly seems to think so. The long-gestating feature film version of the classic anime Robotech isn't dead in the water yet -- and to prove it, WB has hired two new writers to give the script another polish. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have signed to write the live-action adaption.

Robotech originally aired during the '80s in North America (and was compiled from three different series' released in Japan); the film is being described as "A sprawling sci-fi epic" and takes place in a not-too-distant future where humans have developed giant robots from an alien technology. When another invasion looms, mankind hops in their giant robots to fend off the alien hoard, and the fate of the human race is left in the hands of two young pilots. Tobey Maguire will still produce, but it remains to be seen if Maguire will star -- and at the rate this project is moving, Maguire is going to be in his 40's by the time this film hits theaters.

Gough and Millar aren't the first writers to take a stab at the anime classic. Back in June, we reported that Lawrence Kasdan was drafting a script, but the project seemed to stall after that. According to THR, Warners is keen to get the film into production, and the hiring of Millar and Gough could give the film a needed boost of "geek cred" since both worked on Spider Man 2 and The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as well as a stint writing for Smallville.

It looks like it could be some time before Robotech finally makes its way to the big screen, but here's your chance to sound off on whether you would actually want to see it on the big screen ...

Have you had your fill of giant robots on the big screen yet? Well, Hollywood is banking that you haven't, and while we wait for the next installment of Transformers, it's time to turn our attention to some of the other giant robot flicks heading our way in the not-so-distant future. It's common knowledge that Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li) is in charge of the big-screen adaptation of Voltron, and today a review of Marks' script has popped up online over at Latino Review -- and, thankfully, it looks like good news for fans of the 80's cartoon. But first off, you should know that the review is pretty descriptive about the plot and 'spoiler alert' doesn't even begin to cover it. If you don't feel like reading the whole thing (and it is pretty long), it can all be boiled down to this: the script rocks.

If you didn't grow up watching 80's cartoons, then Voltron might not inspire much excitement. But, for those of a certain age, Voltron was a religion. The story of Volton centered on a team of five young pilots commanding five robot lions which could be combined to form a giant fighting machine called Voltron. Our heroes are left with the task of protecting their home planet from an evil king and a witch named Hagar. But those were the old days, and according to Latino Review, Marks' script is going to deviate from the original anime origins. For the update, Marks' story centers on the fact that "The Drules have invaded Earth and kicked our ass in the ONE DAY WAR. Humanity has gone underground. New York has been decimated and our story opens on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Drule invasion."

Despite a resume full of fantasy and action flicks, Lawrence Kasdan will forever be synonymous with 'Boomer' movies like The Big Chill and Grand Canyon. But, this is the man who wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return of the Jedi, so it's not like a script about giant robots and alien invasions is that big of a stretch. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Kasdan has signed to write the script for a live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime, Robotech, for Warner Bros.

The story of Robotech centered on a not-too-distant future where mankind has discovered alien technology called 'protoculture' on a deserted South Pacific island. Using the tech to build giant robots (well, what else would you do with it?), humanity is forced to fend off alien invasions looking to steal a little of that 'protoculture' for their very own.

Robotech marks Kasdan's second big fantasy project this year, after being tapped to write a remake of the 80's fantasy flop, Clash of the Titans. It's still early days for Robotech, but WB seems eager to fill up their fantasy slate for the coming year, so stay tuned to Cinematical for any updates that come our way.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, everyone's favorite webslinger is tackling another comic book adaptation. Tobey Maguire is teaming up with Neal Moritz to produce Afterburn, a comic series published by Red 5 Comics. There's no word yet if Maguire plans to star, or if he's sticking behind the scenes on this one. No writer has been assigned to adapt.

Afterburn is a sci-fi adventure set in a post-apocalyptic Earth, where the Eastern Hemisphere has been destroyed by a massive solar flare. Those who survived have mutated due to the radioactive fallout. In this bleak setting lives a group of treasure hunters, who are happy to track down priceless treasures like the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone, and the Crown Jewels -- for the right price. After all, they have to combat rival hunters, mutants and pirates. It sounds like Tomb Raider meets the X-Men. It's been getting pretty good reviews across the Internet, so I may just have to check it out since I'm a sucker for anything involving treasure hunters.

Warner Bros. is wicked smart: They looked and they said, "What's some of the hottest stuff out there right now that we don't have?" The answers: Giant f**king robots and Tobey f**king Maguire. And so Warner Bros. did what they do best -- they went out and picked up the rights to the anime classic Robotech, brought Maguire on to produce through his Maguire Entertainment and are currently seducing him into starring in the lead role. Better yet -- they're also eying this as their next tentpole sci-fi franchise. Whether or not this means Maguire will not reprise his role as Peter Parker in a Spider-Man 4 is hard to say; yet, if he does decide to star in the film (with plans on making it a franchise), I'd imagine chances of him donning the Spidey outfit for a fourth go-round are pretty slim.

I'm not too familiar with Robotech; The Hollywood Reporter tell us it was a "cartoon series during the 1980s from Harmony Gold USA and Tatsunoki Prods. It was re-edited and re-dialogued to combine three Japanese anime series to give the producers enough episodes to air as a daily syndicated series." The story apparently takes place during a time when the Earth has used alien technology to create giant robots in order to use as defense against three successive waves of alien invasions. Giant robots versus aliens, with Tobey Maguire using his small-town charms to kick tons of ass? Yup, I dig it. Craig Zahler will write the script, although there's no indication whether Warners will want to go live-action with this or stick with something in the CGI realm. Which would you rather see: Tobey in Robotech, Tobey in Spidey 4 or Tobey in both?

So ... remember Robotech? You know, the mid 1980s Americanized adaptation of a Japanese mech story? Um ... this one. Surely you at least remember the line of action figures, right?* As it turns out, Robotech was sorely missed by somebody, because a motion picture sequel has been created, and is all set to be released on DVD (what, you expected a major theater pitch?) early this February. Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is an official sequel, and has apparently been crafted with quite a bit of love and care.

For those of you disappointed by the lack of a theatrical release for your beloved Robotech, you just might be able to score a bit of luck if you live in Texas, or a few other select areas. Yes, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles will get a very small scale limited release just prior to the official DVD release between January 8th and February 3rd. You can check out Toon Zone for the full list of all 8 theaters. Looks like yours truly will be waiting on the DVD, as Pennsylvania appears nowhere on the list. That's probably for the best, because I can't really imagine I'd have hunted down a theater for it anyway.

*Yeah, yeah. I know Robotech is actually a pretty popular franchise. I'm just enjoying the opportunity to pick on you fans a bit.