Gundam Live-Action Movie Starring Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo Acquired by Netflix

6 days ago 10

Published Jan 28, 2026, 1:51 PM EST

A cinematic obsessive with the filmic palate of a starving raccoon, Rob London will watch pretty much anything once. With a mind like a steel trap, he's an endless fount of movie and TV trivia, borne from a misspent youth of watching monster movies on TV, perusing the sun-faded goods at the local video rental shop, and staining his fingers with ink from the Video Movie Guide. Areas of interest include science fiction, film noir, horror flicks, '70s disaster pictures, Bond movies, '90s action, giant robots, dinosaurs, super heroes, and the exuberantly schlocky output of Cannon Films. He also enjoys both Star Trek and Star Wars when they're good, and maybe even more when they're bad. As a Canadian, he also has a vested interest in Canadian movies and TV shows, especially the cheesier ones dubbed "Canuxploitation."

An expert on Marvel Comics, he has also written for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and is a member of the Marvel Research Team. He can frequently be found pontificating on comic-book continuity or bemoaning the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs on his Twitter account.

Gundam has found its home base. The live-action anime adaptation, which is set to star Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo, has reportedly been acquired for distribution by Netflix. Details on the Legendary Pictures film are being kept under wraps for the time being.

According to reports, Netflix has won the bidding war for the picture, which brings it full-circle. It was originally in development at the streamer with Kong: Skull Island's Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached to direct, but that version of the film never came to fruition. Instead, Jim Mickle, who adapted Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth graphic novel series for the streamer, is set to pilot the film. Mickle is both writing and directing the film, and will also produce it with wife Linda Moran via their production company Nightshade. Sweeney commented on the film late last year, noting that there is progress "every single day" on the long-awaited project.

What Is 'Gundam'?

One of the most enduring franchises in anime history, Gundam kicked off with 1979's Mobile Suit Gundam. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, the series revolved around a space-spanning war between the Earth Federation and an alliance of breakaway off-world colonies, the Principality of Zeon; that war is waged with massive mechanical humanoid mecha-suits. The series primarily focused on a pair of mobile suit pilots: the youthful Earth Federation rookie Amuro Ray and his nemesis, the Zeon ace Char Aznable. The animated series was actually not a success initially, and was cancelled after 43 episodes; however, sales of model kits based on the mecha were enormous, and the franchise soon found its way back to the airwaves, where it has remained ever since. The most recent series in the franchise is Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, a "what if"-type story revolving around a timeline where Zeon triumphed over Earth. The upcoming film will be one of the franchise's first forays into live-action, although the 1999 live-action telefilm G-Saviour was produced to commemorate Mobile Suit Gundam's 20th anniversary.

Gundam is one of the many projects the ever-busy Sweeney has in the works, although presumably this one won't require festooning the Hollywood sign with lingerie. She's reprising her star-making role in the third season of Euphoria later this year, and is expected to return in The Housemaid's Secret, a sequel to her recent hit thriller. She is also attached to adaptations of the video games OutRun and Split Fiction, and will star as Kim Novak in Colman Domingo's Scandalous!

Legendary's live-action Gundam movie has reportedly been picked up for distribution by Netflix. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.