Mobile Suit Gundam: Seed Freedom is the highest grossing, most popular film to ever arrive from the mech franchise. Hitting theaters earlier this year in Japan, the movie was a surprise for Gundam fans since the original Seed television series came to an end in 2003, with its sequel ending in 2005. Returning to this mech-battling universe, the Gundam franchise wasted little time in confirming that a prequel project was in the works via Gundam Seed Freedom Zero. As fans wait to learn more about this new prequel project, Bandai Namco Filmworks has released a brand new trailer to hint at what is to come.
The Gundam series’ true strength has been dropping its mech suits into new timelines and alternate realities. This fact allows the franchise to tell new stories for decades both in the established universes it has created, along with creating new characters and worlds. The Gundam Seed series first began in 2002 and despite garnering two length anime series to start, it took decades for the story of Blue Cosmos to continue. Once Mobile Suit Gundam: Seed Freedom arrived in theaters around the world, it quickly became the biggest movie of the franchise in terms of profits, so it makes sense that this universe would continue.
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Seed Freedom Zero Trailer
Shockingly enough, the script for the Gundam Seed Freedom prequel was written tweny years ago, around the time of the original anime’s launch on the small screen. On top of bringing back some familiar faces from the anime, previous director Mitsuo Fukuda is returning to fill the director’s chair this time around. Joining Fukuda is series writer Chiaki Morosawa, meaning that Seed Freedom Zero will stick as closely as possible to the characterization that we have seen from this Gundam series so far.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out Mobile Suit Gundam: Seed Freedom, here’s an official breakdown of the successful anime film, “In C.E.75, the fighting still continues. There are independence movements, and aggression by Blue Cosmos… In order to calm the situation, a global peace monitoring agency called COMPASS is established, with Lacus as its first president. As members of COMPASS, Kira and his comrades intervene into various regional battles. Then a newly established nation called Foundation proposes a joint operation against a Blue Cosmos stronghold.
The Future is Bright For Mechs
While the Gundam Seed universe is arguably the most popular mech universe as of the writing of this article, this fact doesn’t mean that the anime franchise is only focusing on this world. Gundam: Requiem For Vengeance brought anime viewers back to the original universe, placing the first Gundam protagonist Amuro into something of a villain role. With this latest anime series using CG-animation to bring its story to life, Netflix housed the very different television show for the franchise. The streaming service also happens to have a big Gundam project in the works.
The long-touted live-action Mobile Suit Gundam movie is still in the works but it has gone through some changes recently. Originally, Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) was slated to direct but the platform swapped directorial duties. Jim Mickle was listed as the new director last month, who previously worked with Netflix on the live-action series, Sweet Tooth. The adaptation has yet to reveal its release date but it’s sure to be a big event once it hits Netflix.
Want to stay up to date on all things Gundam? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on the Mobile Suit franchise and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
