Sydney Sweeney’s Gundam Live-Action Movie Just Got Its Best News Yet
Legendary and Bandai Namco’s live-action Gundam is powering up, with Sydney Sweeney leading, Jim Mickle directing, and Noah Centineo co-starring — and a new update signaling the project is shifting into high gear.
Quick update for anyone tracking the live-action Gundam: the movie just found its home, and that home is Netflix. That might sound like a small tweak, but for a project that has been shifting gears for a while, it is a real step forward.
"Netflix is on board to release the live-action Gundam movie."
Who is making this thing
Here is the current lineup. Sydney Sweeney is set to star, with Noah Centineo also in the cast. Jim Mickle is directing this version, and he wrote the script too. He is producing alongside Linda Moran under their Nightshade banner. The film is a joint effort between Legendary Entertainment and Bandai Namco Filmworks.
How we got here
- 2021: Netflix first got involved with the project when Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) was attached to direct.
- 2024: Reports said Mickle had taken over as director and Netflix was no longer part of the plan.
- Now: Per Deadline, Netflix is back in as the distributor. No release date yet, but the project locking a platform is a good sign.
What we know about the story
Plot details are being kept quiet. No logline, no character breakdowns yet. Given the brand and the talent, expect big robots and bigger stakes, but that is as far as anyone is going on the record for now.
Gundam refresher (for the curious and the lapsed)
Gundam is one of the most influential anime franchises ever, the series that helped launch the big-robot subgenre into the mainstream. The classic setup is the Universal Century timeline: humanity has pushed out into space, Earth and its colonies end up at war, and pilots climb into towering mobile suits to settle the score. It all began with Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979 from creator Yoshiyuki Tomino and has ballooned into 83 animated series and films, plus a merch machine that pulls in around $600 million a year. In short: there is a lot of history to draw from.
Where the leads are right now
Sydney Sweeney recently played Millie Calloway in Paul Feig's 'The Housemaid', which is still in theaters in the U.S. Noah Centineo will show up as Ken Masters in the live-action Street Fighter movie hitting later this year.
What this means
Netflix stepping back in gives the movie a clear runway and a global platform. The creative team is locked, the script is Mickle's, and distribution is now sorted. We are still waiting on a date, a title treatment, and literally any plot tease, but momentum is finally going the right way.
Note: The initial tip on this update was credited to Brandon Schreur at SuperHeroHype.