Entertainment business news magazine Variety is reporting that Sony Pictures has secured rights to adapt Robotech, Harmony Gold's localization of Tatsunoko-produced mecha anime The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, as a live-action Hollywood project, viewed as a potential film franchise. 

As recently as early February, Warner Bros. were still reportedly involved with attempts to adapt the sci-fi animation. Now that Sony has the rights, they're reportedly planning to move forward quickly with Gianni Nunnari and 300's Mark Canton producing and Michael Gordon (300, GI Joe) writing the script. Frank Agrama of Harmony Gold, which is the original intellectual property rights holder, will executive produce. 

“‘Robotech’ is unique in that it has always been a marriage of spectacle with human characters that seem drawn from life,” said production chief Michael De Luca. “ With a history that offers an epic love triangle, a renegade hero, and a world on the brink of extinction, ‘Robotech’ offers a wide scope and a rich and impressive universe where the story possibilities are endless.”

“I’m thrilled to be back in business with Sony Pictures and Gianni and I look forward to working with the studio on this global franchise-driven opportunity,” said Canton, who ran the studio in the 1990s. “‘Robotech’ is a very significant and legendary part of the growth of anime into the force that it is today, and we’re excited to be adapting it for modern audiences.”

“When the rights to ‘Robotech’ became available we jumped; Mark and I knew it had what big movies in today’s world must have if they want to grab everyone: insane visuals and powerful themes,” said Nunnari. “The characters in ‘Robotech’ wrestle with both the destructive and redemptive powers of technology; nothing is more relevant today than that.”

via Variety

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.