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Gundam: Hathaway's Flash Film Trilogy, Reconguista in G Film Project Confirmed

The anime studio Sunrise confirmed in a live project announcement stream on Wednesday that it is producing five projects for the Gundam franchise's 40th anniversary: a film trilogy based on Yoshiyuki Tomino's Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senkō no Hathaway (Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash) novel series, a compilation film project of the Gundam: Reconguista in G television anime in 2019, a spring television airing of the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin anime, a new Gundam Build work in 2019, and a new SD Gundam work titled SD Gundam World Sangoku Sōketsuden in 2019.

Sunrise noted that the keyword for the franchise's 40th anniversary is "beyond." It also unveiled four tribute posters for the anniversary, with each poster crossing over two Gundam series. X Japan and Luna Sea member Sugizo composed a new song for the franchise's 40th anniversary, and performed it during Wednesday's presentation.

The Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash film trilogy is the second project in the "UC NexT 0100 Project" that will tackle the future of the UC timeline. The first project is the Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (Kidō Senshi Gundam NT) anime film. Sunrise acknowledged that it cannot announce the cast of Hathaway's Flash yet, but promised to provide more details in the future. The trailer for the trilogy will play with Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative when that film opens on November 30.

Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of the first Gundam series and several of the later projects, wrote the three-volume Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senkō no Hathaway (Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash or alternately, Mobile Suit Gundam: Flash's Hathaway) novel series from 1989 to 1990. The novel series is set in the year UC0105 and centers around Hathaway Noa, who appeared in the 1988 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack as the son of the influential Federation ship captain Bright Noa. (Char's Counterattack is set in the year UC 0093.) The novel series deals with the aftermath of Char's Counterattack's climatic finale.

In an April presentation, Sunrise had briefly listed a film trilogy based on the novel series with a release of fall 2019 or later.

The Gundam: Reconguista in G film project will recompile footage from the earlier Gundam: Reconguista in G television series along with new sequences. In conjunction with the film's 2019 release, Tomino will appear at Japan Expo in Paris.

Gundam: Reconguista in G celebrated the Gundam franchise's 35th anniversary, and marked the first return of Yoshiyuki Tomino as chief director of an original Gundam series since Turn A Gundam. After a theatrical premiere of the first three episodes in August 2014, the anime premiered on Japanese television in October 2014. The Gundam Reconguista in G: From the Past to the Future nine-minute short was then screened at the Gundam Front Tokyo's Wall-G Theater at Diver City Tokyo starting in May 2015.

Right Stuf released the Gundam: Reconguista in G television anime series on Blu-ray Disc in North America in October 2016.

Animator Kazumi Nakatsu previously reported on her Twitter account in November 2016 that Gundam: Reconguista in G would play in theaters throughout Japan sometime in 2017. A theatrical film version of the Gundam: Reconguista in G television anime had not been announced previously. Nakatsu's Twitter post has since been deleted. Tomino later stated that a new project for Gundam: Reconguista in G was in development.

The Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin series of six theatrical anime volumes will be recompiled into a 13-episode television series that will premiere on NHK-General next April. Sugizo is producing the opening and ending theme songs, and his group Luna Sea is performing all the opening theme songs. The theme songs will include both newly written songs and covers of famous Gundam songs in collaboration with other musical artists.

The Gundam Build franchise began with the 2013 Gundam Build Fighters anime, followed by Gundam Build Fighters Try in 2014, and then Gundam Build Divers earlier this year in April. Sunrise and Right Stuf released the first two series on home video with English dubs. Crunchyroll and Gundam.info are both streamed the Gundam Build Divers series. That series is also receiving an English dub.

The SD Gundam series is a spinoff of the main Gundam franchise that anthropomorphizes the franchise's iconic mobile suit mecha. The spinoff franchise has spawned its own anime, manga, games, and model kits. The latest anime in the franchise is SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors in 2010.

Source: Gundam 40th Anniversary project announcement live stream