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Well then, Gundam is finally on the floor with the live-action treatment, and no, this is not a false rumour. Netflix sounds pretty sure this time. Production is officially underway in Australia, and Netflix is putting serious weight behind a project that has lingered on the edge for years now. Many are unaware, but the talks for Gundam live action began in 2021. For fans who have followed the franchise across decades and timelines, this marks a proper turning point.

And even bigger news is the finalised cast. Yes, don’t doubt yourself; you read that right. We have Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo leading a cast built for off-the-charts expectations. Two familiar faces, one of which has been the face of Netflix for a long time, with a story that demands more than surface-level visibility because Gundam, at its centre, has always balanced conflict and character. Big machines, yes, but also big questions! The story is a brilliant mix of moral tension and choices that are rarely clean.

Another brand new piece of information is that rather than developing an existing arc, the film takes a different route. We have a new story set against a war that stretches across years, across planets and, most importantly, across ideologies.

Which brings us to the fact that live-action anime adaptations don’t exactly have a spotless record, do they? Big ideas come in, and to some extent, they make our expectations climb. But after that, everything hinges on execution, and audiences are generally disappointed. Get it right, and it works. Get it wrong, and it falls apart quickly.

Now Gundam is in that exact position. It has got everything right so far: a good director and a cast that is specifically built for attention. But before we talk about them, let’s have a look at the plot.

What’s Gundam about?

So, first things first, what even is Gundam if you haven’t come across it before? It’s a long-running sci-fi franchise built around giant humanoid machines, known as mobile suits, used in large-scale wars. But it’s never just about the machines. At its best, Gundam is all about politics and conflict.

Now Netflix’s Gundam will focus on two mech pilots who end up fighting on opposite sides of a long war between Earth and its space colonies. And they are not just random soldiers either. Both are directly involved in the conflict, which makes things a bit more complicated as it goes on.

As the story moves forward, their paths start crossing more often. They get pulled into the same situations and are forced to deal with the same problems, which eventually makes them realise that the war isn’t as straightforward as it seemed at the start. Everyone and everything they believed in is changing.

That’s really where Gundam tends to stand out because it is not only about battles or machines but also about the people inside them and how they deal with everything happening around them.

So while you can expect the big action moments, the story is also looking at the human side of it, which is where Netflix steps in, and we are hoping for the best.

Who’s in the cast and when is it releasing?

Alright, let’s talk about who’s actually in it. Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo are leading the film, which, let’s be honest, is majorly for the attention game. But apart from that, both have been around enough big projects to handle something like this, and pairing them together suggests the film will reach a large audience. Plus, Sydney is just in the headlines for Euphoria season three, which is a cherry on top.

Then, we have names like Jackson White, Shioli Kutsuna, Nonso Anozie, and Michael Mando, along with a few other familiar faces. So it’s not just two leads carrying everything, but we have a wider group involved. It is being directed by Jim Mickle, best known for Sweet Tooth, so that should give you a rough sense of what to expect.

As of the release date, nothing is confirmed yet. The filming has just started, so Netflix will take a while to confirm anything solid. For now, all we can do is keep checking for updates, and we can help you with that.