Have I been living under a rock or did this news just come totally out of left-field? Forget rumor or hearsay, official news has just been revealed that Warner Bros and Tobey Maguire’s production company (creatively named Maguire Entertainment) are bringing the anime classic Robotech to the big screen. Not that I ever cared much for the franchise - and I guess it was predictable given the success of Transformers - but this actually sounds really, really cool!
Reportedly aiming for a new “tentpole franchise”, the studio has been in talks for some time and Tobey Maguire looks likely to play the lead role which I would presume is that of Rick Hunter. A young circus pilot and naive pacifist, Hunter was the central character in the animated series, which was set on Earth in 2009. Embroiled in a war against the alien Zentraedi and constantly in conflict with his own personal view of war, he becomes a highly respected military commander.
The coolest bit? These guys don’t fly regular old fighter jets. No sirree. They fly ‘Mechas’ - futuristic jets that transform into enormous robots. Could it be the Transformers may meet their match at the box office once sequel time comes around?
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For starters, it seems unlikely Maguire would take on a franchise like this to provide mere thrills and popcorn fluff. Rather, first impressions lead me to the assumption this could be much closer to Iron Man than Transformers in terms of narrative tone and visual style. Speaking about the project, the actor said:
We are very excited to bring Robotech to the big screen. There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film.
Now, I don’t know about you guys out there, but I’m beginning to lose interest in Masters of the Universe and Voltron all of a sudden. They, along with the ‘robots in disguise’, might have been my big pieces of nostalgia for the ’80s but… heck… I’m beginning to think Robotech’s where it’s at for the new millennium! At least it sounds like some brains are involved.
Bring it on!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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8 Comments
Wow.. The transformation sequences will not need to involve millions of pieces of junk shuffling busily all over the Veritech fighters, that’s for sure.
They already have a pretty good CGI rendering of the transformation sequences in the Macross Zero 6-part miniseries.. and first transformation in Episode 1 itself is already bloody awesome!
Hope to see some photo-realistic take on that!
I’m down with pretty much anything Robotech/Macross. And yeah Macross Zero was pretty awesome when it came to the transformations. I’ll definitely be down for some live action Veritech goodness. And man, don’t get me started on the Super Dimensional Fortress!
Yeah… and, Jae Senn… maybe they can let us see what’s going on so we feel some genuine tension!
God, Transformers was shocking… it still upsets me that they got away with it.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a non-Transformers attempt at a transforming robot movie.
Maybe one where anyone over thirty is not automatically portrayed as an idiot.
Vic
This is the best news I’ve gotten since my ex girlfriend said she was leaving me! Macross/Robotech is the greatest anime adventure of all time! I’ve been wishing for a Macross movie for most of my life. Bring it on! I just don’t think Tobey can fill Rick Hunter’s shoes. Someone else may need to play the roll.
Negro, OUT!~
Yeah… I agree.
Tobey’s got a distinct nerd vibe, whereas I kind of picture Rick Hunter as a bit more… dare I say ‘attractive’?
I dunno… my knowledge of Robotech is extremely slim… but, as with most anime characters, the pictures make him look a bit ’sharper’ (so to speak) than Maguire.
It seem to me that most everyone is missing some important points of the Robotech series. Robotech was not only the series that helped America to fall in love with Anime. Un-like the Transformers and Voltron cartoons ( which set up the situation and left it at that) Robotech was a progressive series.
The characters actually evolved. There thoughts and actions were based on experiences from previous episodes. This creates a problem in casting. I’ve seen a lot of crazy ideas about who should be cast. The only person I agree with is Jolene Blalock (Star Trek Enterprise) as Miriya. As for Toby Maguire, I don’t believe he’s suited to play any of the roles. To old (and not the right type) for Rick, not experienced or distinguished enough for Roy. Not attractive enough or confident enough for Max, not Gregarious and full of himself enough to play Ben. I’m NOT basing this on what the characters looked like, or who I want to see on screen, it’s about believable character. If they create shallow characters, I’ll be F*^%in pissed. It will ruin the whole concept. They ruined Transformers, I mean come on, a break dancing hip hop robot….what the hell was that?
A-MEN, Joe! Especially the part about Tobey not being attractive enough to play Max… I’d be hard-pressed to find a living human who is! And brother, Max’s hair had better be BLUE!
What's your opinion? Leave a comment!