Well, as it turns out, we’re going to get a Robotech live-action film at some point in the future. Even better: it’s going to be by the director of the Hawkeye series on Disney+. Does this mean that we’ll see high tech, supersized bows in the hands of the mechs? Probably not, but it’d be fun to imagine it.

Perhaps a Giant Mecha Hawkeye is in Order?

"Robotech" Remastered Vol. 1 Extended Edition DVD cover art.
Imagine this giant mech wielding a giant bow?

Deadline recently revealed that Rhys Thomas, director of Ep. 1, 2, and 6 of Hawkeye, will be directing the Robotech live-action adaptation film for Sony Pictures. It seems that they decided that Thomas did such a good job directing those episodes that he is now worthy to direct the the live-action adaptation of this classic sci-fi anime epic.

Rhys Thomas.
Alright, Thomas, let’s see if you still have that grin when you’re directing Robotech.

According to Polygon, Thomas will work with producers Mark Canton (Land of the Dead, 300, After) and Gianni Nunnari (300, Immortals, Silence). Screenwriting duo Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man, Men in Black: International, Uncharted) will write the script for the film. Unfortunately, that’s it as far as any official production information about this live-action Robotech film. We have no info to tease about the plot, and we don’t even have a release date for you. That’s something we’ll have to wait for Sony Pictures to reveal to us at a later time. Tune in later to find out when we get that info.

Robotech: Details

So many childhood memories of giant robots fighting alien giant robots.

Robotech is a bit of an odd duck as far as anime is concerned. First off, it’s not actually a single anime series. It’s a science fiction franchise by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production that takes footage from 3 different giant robot anime series from the 1980’s: Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA; and edits them into a single continuous story. With almost completely revised dialogue, of course. You can’t possibly expect mashing the unrevised dialogue of 3 different anime series together would give you a coherent story, could you?

Robotech Film: Speculation

"Robotech: The Macross Saga" concept art.
A F-14 Tomcat combined with a giant robot. Seems legit.

We don’t actually know what the plot of this Robotech live-action film will be, but we can make some educated guesses based on the franchise. My best guess is that this live-action film will follow the Macross arc. This was the first arc of the series, and is arguably the best. The basic premise of the arc is that a city-sized alien spaceship enters Earth’s atmosphere, and crashes into a small South Pacific island. Humanity fixes up the spaceship (naming her the Macross) and learns from the advanced tech onboard, with a small city growing up around the wreck in the process.

Everything changes though when another alien race comes calling. They want the spaceship, and they don’t care how many people they have to kill to get her. Humanity’s response is to launch the spaceship into battle. It’s a got a big gun, but it doesn’t have the thrust to get out of atmosphere and there’s an entire alien fleet blockading the planet. Thus, the Macross uses the newly fixed-up FTL drive to flee. Unfortunately, this takes the entire island and its residents with them. Thus, the crew of the Macross picks up the islanders, and flees with them. This kicks off a grand adventure through the Solar System. Want to find out more. Then check out the anime for yourself, and relive it in its 1980’s anime glory.

Source: Deadline, Polygon