Year after year of rumours and negotiations, it looks like Robotech might be really adapted into a Hollywood movie soon. Sony Pictures just announced that they are picking up the franchise after securing the big screen rights and vows to “the intention of moving quickly toward production of a future global franchise”.
Producers of 300 and Immortals, Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton are on board with Micheal Gordon (300, GI Joe: Rise of Cobra) as the screenplay writer. According to them, they will “bring their modern sensibility to the tentpole, reintroducing today’s audiences to the Robotech universe.” Overseers of the project from Sony Pictures will be Doug Belgrad, Micheal DeLuca and Matthew Milam. Whereas Harmony Gold, the original American license holder of the franchise will have Frank Agrama as executive producer with Micheal Gordon and Jehan Agrama.
As much as some of us are excited about this, we also worried what will original owners of the series that almagated into Robotech saga will take this news, namely Tatsunoko or Big West/Studio Nue. In 2000, Big West and Studio Nue took Tatsunoko to Tokyo Court to battle over rights of distribution outside Japan especially America where Harmony Gold bars any attempts to market Macross series in the said country. Two years later, the court rules that Big West/Studio Nue is the sole owner of the original characters and mecha designs for the first series and in 2003, the same court ruled that Tatsunoko have the production rights of the first series. In last legal battle at Tokyo (2004), Tatsunoko still held on to the production rights of the franchise.
This could mean that Sony Pictures might opt for different mecha designs and characters in order to avoid any legal shootout with the Japanese owners. Anyway, let’s be hopeful that legality issues will not stop the live action, big budget and decent adaptation of Robotech.
Just don’t bring in Micheal Bay.
Source: The Verge & Coming Soon
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