One of the cartoons I loved watching as a kid was Robotech… and I always thought it would make a pretty good live action movie. Well guess what folks… looks like there is indeed a live action Robotech movie coming our way! The folks over at Superherohype give us the following:
Warner Bros. Pictures has picked up the rights to bring anime classic “Robotech,” which featured giant robots known as mechas, to the big screen. “Spider-Man” franchise star Tobey Maguire is producing through his Maguire Entertainment and is eyeing the lead role in what the studio plans on being a tentpole sci-fi franchise.
“We are very excited to bring ‘Robotech’ to the big screen,” Maguire said. “There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film.”
Yeah… so if this doesn’t spell “NO MAGUIRE FOR SPIDER-MAN 4” I don’t know what does. I think this is terrific news and with how well Transformers pulled off the giant Robots thing, I think it’s clear they can now do this film without it looking ridiculous.
Now, some people may object and ask me why I think an anime project like Robotech will work and a film like Dragonball Z won’t work. The answer is pretty simple… Robotech is much much much more palatable for a general movie going audience who hasn’t heard of it before, than Dragonball Z would be for people who haven’t followed it already. Neither of these franchise have a large enough pre-existing fan base to be a hit movie on their own… they would both also need to appeal to the general movie goer… and Robotech will do that I believe (especially after Transformers)… Dragonball Z won’t (at least not to the same degree).
sorry to break it to you all but there is already a battle tech live action movie. dont remember who starred in it or when it came out but i seen it 20 some odd years ago when i was really into this game as a kid. it was however, pretty cheesy. it seemed like the story line and plot was rushed a bit but its not uncommon as alot of movies back then was and still are today. michael bay was not the first to make a movie with giant robots. i would like to see the battle tech and mech warrior universe revamped however would like to see it without the stench of nerdy mcguire. if your going to revamp then lets get a true action star in there and not that sniveling lil runt
Anyways, I won’t use bad terms like bastardizing or what, I just preferred to tell that the original anime was copied.
Macross is still the best there is…
I still preferred the original Macross than Robotech. First and foremost, Robotech was copied from Macross which is the original anime, then they made up so much stories about Macross technology poor compare to Robotechnology?
I prefer all the cool Macross mechas and I love Macross mechas so much and their character. It may be hard to pronounce Hikaru Ichijo, but we all watch Japanese movies with Japanese names on them so what’s the big deal about names?
The fact is that Macross is Macross and Robotech can never hide the truth that “MACROSS” is the original. Whether we turn the tables upside down, or in-between or all sides whatever… Macross is Macross and Robotech can never beat up Macross in all terms. Because Macross made Robotech as Robotech when Macross was copied.
Now about the movie, fine if Warner Bros. will make a Robotech movie, maybe they have the idea that it will be a good movie. But whether we like it or not, Macross is still the best!!! Because Robotech copied it, Robotech won’t be able to go up without Macross, because the original is Macross. It’s like pirated CDs or DVDs being sold outside the vendors, the original copies don’t sell that much because the popular ones are the pirated copies.
Hehehehe…
Even in Role-Playing Games, they change so much of the rules regarding the original Macross, but in the back of the book of Robotech The Role-Playing Game, they admitted in the book the that original is Macross. So for those fans, sorry dudes and dudettes, Macross is the best there is.
That is why in Robotech, they changed the mechas, because they know that the original ones called Veritech fighters were original called Valkyries. Especially the new Valkyrie in Macross 25 called Messiah, that’s one of the best Valkyries. Macross 7 and Macross Plus mechas are the cool mechs there is like the YF-21 Sturmvogel and YF-19 Excalibur.
I don’t think Robotech can make those type of mechs because they will turn out that they copied it again from the original Macross.
Even the M.A.C Monster, Robotech changed it because they know they copied the original one which is called Monster, in VF-X II video game, Macross Zero and Macross 25, the Monster can transform into a fighter mode, gerwalk (which Robotech change the term called guardian mode) and robot mode.
All-in-all Macross is still the best. If they want to make a movie, better go with the original Macross. Who cares about names, we watch movies with Japanese names, it’s not the character, it’s how the movie is done and how the actor play it well even if he is playing a Japanese name.
Anyone who complains about bastardization between Robotech and Macross, is generally the result of those that are still too damn young to have watched it on TV during sat. morning cartoons.
So all you youngsters, stfu… really now. Without those bastardizations in the first place originally,
NA and beyond wouldn’t have been introduced to anime in the first place until streaming video or p2p. Its nostalgia for most of us. stfu :p we seen it 23+yrs way the fk before you did.
As long as Toby sticks to the story and change for hollywood and doesn’t play as Rick the movie shold turn out excellant!!! Toby just doesn’t have the look or the voice to be a “Rick Hunter”!
Has anyone heard who has been casted for this?
Rick Hunter
Breti
Exedore
Lisa Hayes
Minmei
Captain Gloval
etc.,….
Sorry, Things should go pretty well if Toby can remain a fan of the original show and not let his film become a frankenstien monster that wants to create too many new elements to the already wide universe of Robotech.
From what I’ve seen as far as thier pics for writing, directing,and with Toby producing,things should go pretty well. With T
I’m going to watch this movie regardless of it’s success. Fans of Robotech are mostly mislead. The first series which deals with the lives of the SDF-1 is a stand alone anime. Anything after that introduced by Harmoney Gold, are different cartoons molded together and thus those stories can be safely thrown to the way side.
Translation to the live action movie should be simple; keep the American title (Robotech not Macross) and character names. Depending on it’s local vewing population preference, the names can be altered with-out much fuzz. It isn’t about just North America, having a broad range of appeal requires human emotional investment, ranging from dumb “Joe” to “elderly intellectuals”.
Our human culture of love, music and sacrifice for others shouldn’t be as explicit as it was in the anime. A mature audience would ridicule the thought that songs can bring an end to war. However, they could play it as though our culture is a strong insentive for the Zentran to relax their life of war existance and seek out a better future for themselves.
Finally, I would like this move to make a serious attempt at being a stand alone project with a slight open ending. Let the films’ ability to reach the public determine if it’s worth a sequal. Fleets of space ships destroying the earth is the ultimate ending this movie could deliver.
I can’t wait for more details on this movie. It was only the single greatest cartoon epic of our time. It’s the only cartoon that I continued to care about into my thirties. The human drama and love triangle is what gives it longevity. The mecha was kickarse too :)
(Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)I think Tom Selleck should be in this movie and Tom Cruise.It should be made also by Top Gun’s producers.It needs special computer effects to produce vivid colour and the mecha and trade marks.This gets the fans excited.This should be in depth knowing of the “Shadow Chronicles” and Mark Hamil should be in on this movie.There was Megazone 23 before Robotech existed.This should be made like a Sci-Fi masterpeice.To do the space and planets and also since the invid is Alien their producers James Cameron.Space fold the reflex main guns all of the trademarks.And Roy Fokker and also “Stealth”.This though is comics from Comico and Harmony Gold and DC Comics which did robotech.And their enemy characters like Breetai and Khyron-metal-rock star.Then they have to consistent with all of the other saga’s like the Southern Cross and the New Generation and Macross Plus,Gundam,Megazone 23,Macross Zero.Use Discovery Channel for space and the SDF-1 special effects.Make it long for 3hrs.It has to explain things.
I agree there has to be some good dog fighting with the battlepods and also they have to show the inside of the valkyries cockpit when they are in combat just like in the anime this way it doesn’t loose it’s feel to the series. I really hope that hollywood does not butcher this movie. I would rather they make it like they did with the Beowulf movie. I think if they did it like this they can bring back the original cast with the original voices wouldn’t that be awsome. I think if it was done this way then we would be in for a real treat. I think if they are going to play real live actors the casting I have seen so far plainly sucks the only one I think has potential is captain global as clint eastwood and that is only because he has the personality for it but in the original didn’t global have an accent? little things like that is what needs to be looked at to make this movie a huge success. I can totally see Jack Black playing Ben Dixon because he kind of looks like him and also is a funny character in the original series. Just my two cents but I wish I could pick out the cast and I am sure many if not all robotech fans would agree with me on this one.
Ok, we need steven spielberg as executive director.
For the movie to be successful, it has to focus on episodes 1 to 3 in the original robotech/macross series. Episode “Countdown” will be the main source material.
They can focus on the scene where Rick crashes his plane into the suburb as the start of the robotic sequences and how he struggles to control his battloid.
Then for the first strike by the Zentran, they can focus on the veritechs protecting the inner city from the oncoming pods. The ending sequence of the cartoon could give you all an idea of the fight sequences that should take place. Battloids hiding behind buildings, transformation sequences taking place, rick hunter trying to protect minmay but struggles to do so.
They shouldnt take it further than this for the first movie. I cant believe they making a Robotech/macross movie!!! Forget abt Southern Cross, Hovertanks were cool, but the story was depressingly weak.
Tobey macguire as Rick hunter, please NO! Oh, they can really mess this movie up big time. Are there any other directors besides Steven Spielberg that can pull this one off, we talking huge budgets here.
Michael bay shouldd not direct, his directing style is awful along with soundtrack choices. Also, Macguire must not direct as well…… are they trying to mess this movie up….. this could be the best sci fi movie of all time, better than Star Wars included!!, but i fear for the worst.
I loved Robotech/Macross, may it be as great as we all hope it should!
funny thing about cartoon trading is us here in the west don’t always get all the available work thats done. i mean dragon ball is in comic book form at least from the early 80s. why do i bother say this any way, i don’t even like dragon ball x or what ever its called and to be quite frank its a bit… wanky like mortal combat was when it originally hit arcades, just a b-grade rip off of street fighter. lol.
macross should really be two live action movies – pre force of arms and post. all hail zentrati
this is great news, with the transformers proving that it can be done … casting may make or break this project thou. there is one actor who was born for the role of capt glovaland that is jean reno ( godzilla, the professional ).
The news of a possible live-action film based upon Harmony Gold’s production in the mid 1980’s both thrills me and frightens me at the same time. I have longed for the big hollywood flash and (hopefully) the depth of character that could be given to the franchise. At the same time I am afraid that my memories of youth will be betrayed for the sake of deadlines, financial issues, and short sighted criticism. Hollywood has a tendency to emphasize the things that make them the most money in the short term and for a franchise like this it will be the toys. In order for them to make the viewers, kids and adults alike, buy the toys they are going to have to have a large amount of interaction with the mecha. The balance between character development and action scenes will be a difficult one to achieve in the brief timeframe alotted to the movie.
I remember watching the programs as a child and getting very attatched to the characters, even the ones I hated, as well as the mecha. One of the things I liked so much about them in comparison to the other animated features of their time was the full range of perception to the situations that was presented. It was never a black and white option, every decision weighed heavy on the characters and the results were not always favorable. The good guys and bad guys blurred into a myriad of grays and you had to at least sympathize in some way for the aggressors at certain points of the show.
Love, espionage, insanity, mecha, understanding, diplomacy… The themes were endless, the machines were just the tools that got us to pay attention as our hyperactive minds started to cool. Essentially, the “Robotech” Saga was about humanity and the will to survive though the harshest of times and the ingenuity through which we manage to do it. The concept of cultures doing battle with each other, not just civilizations. The use of music was vital to the series (and many of the Macross sequels), will it be for the movie?
Will the writers even start with the traditional Macross opening? Perhaps they would choose to start with the Megazone 23 side project that got waylayed? Or with the Sentinels project? Maybe even the reconstruction period between Macross and Southern Cross? How about Zor’s betrayal and escape from the Robotech Master’s which ultimately led him to crash the SDF on earth. The possibilities are endless, the only certainty will be the fact that there will be mecha in it; lets just hope the characters are worth coming back to two years later.
Thanks for reading,
Real_Time_Being
I can’t wait. I also think Macross is hte best animation Period. It was far more sophisticated than anything in the same era.
And for you Gundam fans, there was already a live action Gundam movie that was made in 2001. G-Savior. Do a search and you will find it.
So long as they leave out that snivelling little wet hen Minmei! She realy annoys me, still does after all these years, maybe they should just cast some gorgeous asian babe who doesn’t speak… that would be better. The character of Minmei really, realy detracted from the original series for me they should get rid of her. She reminds me of that “Wee, wee, memao!” chick from “Kung Pow” IRRITATING! Maybe the writers should have her kidnapped in the first five minutes by the Zentradi and then through the course of film perform all kinds of painfull experiments on her to try and figure out micronization! Cool! Down with Minmei!
Robotech was the best animated series period! It was like an adult soap opera. It even had main characters getting killed off one by one. It was a story about war, a love triangle, aliens, and lots of mechas firing tons of missles that fly in circles and various patterns leaving huge trails of smoke. Wonder why the fight scene from Star Wars part 4 had missles flying like they did in Robotech? The CGI animators grew up watching Robotech! Toby would fit the character Rick Hunter although the character was a teenager in the original series. Well Toby looks young. Min Mae would be another young character (15years old). Lisa Hayes would be alittle older as would Rick Folker. Who would play Max Sterling, but better yet who would play Miriya the hot beautiful best alien fighter pilot? I hope they stick to the original characters and not change things around like the new Battlestar Galactica where Boomer, Starbuck, and commander Kane are women. I also think Toby grew up watching Robotech and that is why he wants to produce it. Can you blame him after watching the huge success of the Transformers which wasn’t even close to the quality of Robotech? Skyfire/Jetfire was also the same as a modified Veritech if you had the toy. The Japanese obviously gave Toby the rights because they are HUGE Toby/Spiderman fans.
What’s next on the list of animation turned Hollywood movie? In my opinion it will be Starblazers (remember that?) Similar story to Robotech. Battleship Yamamoto goes in space to get a machine that will fix the radiation on earth as a result of an intergalactic war. It also has 3 parts as well just like Robotech.
They better have the modified or armored veritech in the movie, fire tons of missles with smoke, use the gunpods, and I hope they have the SDF1 fire its main gun. Also who will Rick end up with? Will he end up marrying Lisa like in the storyline?
I can’t wait for the preview. Maybe they will be at the next Comcon in San Diego.
I am excited to hear about this news. I do hope that they stick to a good story line and have some known charcters from the Macross Saga. I know many people are seeing Toby McGuire as Rick Hunter but my question is who would play Roy Fokker? Max Sterling? Lynn Minmei? So many characters to fill. And who will lead the CGI on this project? I hope they have a good storyline to go with. I think if they do a good job then they will please old fans and introduce new ones to the franchise hopefully.
GIO!
This is freakin’ fantastic news, man! I had heard rumours of a Robotech movie, but there was no mention of live-action! This is friggin’ got me “all in a tizzy!” (Sorry, watched Hairspray and I got the weird vocab thing happening – lol).
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Although I don’t remember everything about Robotech from the 80’s, I bought a couple seasons of the show, and I LOVE IT! There’s a lot of direction they can take this motion picture, and I gotta agree that it would be WAY more appealing to a general audience than DBZ would be. Sure, DBZ has/had a huge following in recent years in the kid crowd, but overall, it cannot and will not cater to a large enough audience, whereas Robotech has something for just about everyone.
Time will tell about Tobey and the direction he goes with his acting in the film. Maybe he does an honourable thing and plays only a small role (if he wants to be in it). I do hope they get a good director with an equal vision, to showcase how great this storyline can be. What are we thinking? 2009 release? Start the countdown!
This is fantastic.If anyone watches just the first episode of Robotech they will understand how this could be made into a movie with cool results.
I think this has tremedous trilogy and merchandise potential.
Love the idea of a live-action Robotech…
…but Tobey Maguire…
Yeesh,
Does this mean the movie is going to be 2 hours of a whiney, emo douchebag and his girlfriends singing career mixed in with 7 1/2 minutes of Mecha action?
Oh wait…
We might be Ok… Sam Raimi isnt directing it… is he?
Robotech (Macross) was a story about war first and a giant robot anime second. It’s a lot more grounded in reality than crazy anime about alien martial artists. I can’t see how people can compare Dragonball to the anime, except for the fact that it’s an anime. In Japan, animation is just another medium and is not locked as a “children’s medium” like it is in North America.
sorry to say Gio but your wrong about the DBZ vs. Robotech DBZ had a HUGE following in the not too distant past and has the potential to draw huge numbers of fans of the show(if its an hour and a half of balls to the wall fights)Besides why dont they just call this movie Gundum Wing and use that show as a starting point sooooo many people would go to see a live action Gundum movie where as most people (ages 16-24) have never heard of Robotech
Wow, kudos to them for trying to get Robotech made but i’ll wait till i see a trailer before i believe it’s happening. I think it’d just be too expensive. Unless of course, you can attach some huge talent to the project (no, not you Maguire).
Man, Robotech rocks. I don’t know about Macguire as Rick Hunter though. Maybe it’s going to be some sort of re-imagining.
As for Robotech vs Macross. I sat around at an anime convention and watched Japanese Macross. Thee isn’t really much if anything overly different. I never got what the whole fuss was about.
This was bigger new for me than even Transformers! Robotech is my favorite cartoon of all time. It addressed very mature themes and was written for a much older audience than Dragonball Z.
I have imagined a live action Robotech movie for a long time and see this as an awesome Live Action film.
I think the first few episodes of the cartoon would make an excellent story for the film.
What do you guys think? How far into the series should the movie try to cover?
They could begin like the cartoon with the back history of the world, crashing of the SDF-1, and the modern day intro of the major characters during the dedication ceremony for the ship.
Then the initial attack by Zentraedi forces should take up a good chunk of the film.
I don’t know if we want this to be a 3 hour epic or not.
either way it should be cool as hell!
Hmmm… Interesting news indeed. I agree with John that Robotech has MUCH more of a chance for live action success than Dragon Ball Z.
Despite being a fan of Japanese mecha anime I’ve never actually seen all of Robotech or Macross (honestly I’ve always preferred the older Gundam series). I caught Robotech whenever it was on when I was a kid and have watched about half of Macross (Japanese version) on DVDs borrowed from a friend.
While I’ll be the first to say the original Japanese version was better, I have to disagree with Noa. I can see where Noa’s coming from, but look at this way… If Robotech is going to be a movie there will be A LOT of changes made. The finished product will be very different from either version of the anime.
And personally I think that’s OK. I want to see huge space fighters that transform into mechs and back. Along with the SDF-1 (Macross). Who doesn’t?? Might as well use the name American audiences are more familiar with (Robotech).
Plus, you have to admit, “Rick Hunter” is a lot easier for English-speakers to pronounce that “Hikaru Ichijo”.
P.S. I have seen the OAV “Macross Plus” and would recommend it to anyone, even casual anime fans.
P.P.S. I second Terry’s comment. Live action MechWarrior film = incredible film = box office gold.
I loved Robotech when I was little, ah the 80s. Good cartoons,TV shows and movies. Yea alot of crap came out of the 80s but, who remebers crap? So Toby wants to trade tights for plans than turn into robots…good trade. I didnt like him much as Spider-man/Peter anyway. I dont see a problem with him producing it or even directing the movie. I do have a problem with him casting himself in a role. Yea know I love the idea of Transformers, He-man, G.I. Joe as motion pictures however they never really measure up to me. They either changed too much from the orginal material, make a lame story, change or leave out charaters, dont put enough action, or anything else to make these movies into killer franchises. Transformers was an OK movie hope they do better in the sequel. But I think the rest of the 80s catoon movies will be like the comic movies now. A few OK movies with a bunch of crap for the rest of them.
I think this one will translate to live-action very well. In fact, I don’t see where as many changes would be necessary to cut down the “cheese factor” like with Transformers. It was always pretty much straight up sci-fi, only animated.
I also think McGuire would make an ideal Rick Hunter.
Sounds promising.
I can’t wait for this. The new Shadow Chronicles movie was great and now a live action movie too? This is great news.
Yahoo!! This is damn good news. Next to Transformers, Robotech is another 80’s animation show that I have a deep sentimental attachment with. I been longing for a Robotech movie and now its finally happening. This show is way ahead of its time with its compelling characters and a sophisticated/mature storyline that doesn’t talk down to the audience. I believe this property will translate perfectly to live action.
I want my Mechwarrior movie dammit!
Eh, I’d rather see Macross, the source material for first third of Robotech, made into a movie because the story of American bastardization pales in comparison to Japanese original and its sequels and prequel.
Robotech has always bothered me as it is a perfect example of how some American companies just flat out don’t care about the properties they bring over and completely change what it was about in the first place, even though it’s not quite like it was back in the 80s.
I can however, respect the fact that there are people who absolutely love Robotech as it is and that they quite frankly don’t care that it’s made up of three completely unrelate series (Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospedia) with a completely different story as I am one who tends to lean more towards the love of Voltron as Voltron rather than GoLion, “Form Blazing Sword” are three words that just make me smile.
And Robotech has always seemed more real world than Dragon Ball Z has in anycase. Now will Maguire be playing Rick Hunter or are they going to relaunch the franchise completely?