Sydney Sweeney's Live-Action Anime Movie Adds a Future Taylor Sheridan Star

2 weeks ago 13

Published Feb 12, 2026, 12:30 PM EST

Chris is a Senior News Writer for Collider. He can be found in an IMAX screen, with his eyes watering and his ears bleeding for his own pleasure. He joined the news team in 2022 and accidentally fell upwards into a senior position despite his best efforts.

For reasons unknown, he enjoys analyzing box office receipts, giant sharks, and has become known as the go-to man for all things Bosch, Mission: Impossible and Christopher Nolan in Collider's news division. Recently, he found himself yeehawing along to the Dutton saga on the Yellowstone Ranch.

He is proficient in sarcasm, wit, Photoshop and working unfeasibly long hours. Amongst his passions sit the likes of the history of the Walt Disney Company, the construction of theme parks, steam trains and binge-watching Gilmore Girls with a coffee that is just hot enough to scald him.

His obsession with the Apple TV+ series Silo is the subject of mockery within the Senior News channel, where his feelings about Taylor Sheridan's work are enough to make his fellow writers roll their eyes.

The live-action Gundam movie is quietly stacking up a very interesting cast. Jason Clarke has joined the upcoming adaptation from Legendary, where he’ll star alongside Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo, according to Deadline. While reps for Netflix and Legendary declined to comment, sources indicate the project is eyeing Netflix as its distributor. Clarke’s role — along with pretty much all plot details — is currently being kept tightly under wraps.

The film is being co-developed by Legendary and franchise owner Bandai Namco Filmworks, marking the first-ever live-action take on Mobile Suit Gundam. The long-running franchise, originally created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, launched in 1979 and helped pioneer the mecha subgenre — giant fighting robots, military politics, and deeply human drama wrapped in sci-fi spectacle. Decades later, the brand still generates over $600 million annually.

The film will be directed by Jim Mickle, best known as the showrunner of Sweet Tooth. Mickle wrote the script and will also produce alongside his partner Linda Moran under their Nightshade banner. Centineo is pulling double duty, producing with his partner Enzo Marc. The project's been under development since 2021, and at one point Jordan Vogt-Roberts (director of Kong: Skull Island) was attached, but alas.

Adapting Gundam into live-action isn’t just about building cool robots (though obviously, that matters). The original anime blended political intrigue, moral ambiguity, and personal tragedy with, let's be real, the truly awesome spectacle of GIANT EXPLOSIVE MECHA BATTLES. Translating that emotional weight — while delivering the spectacle modern audiences expect — won’t be easy. But even if it doesn't, giant machines hitting each other will hit the spot quite nicely, we feel.

What's Jason Clarke Making?

He’s currently reteaming with his Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow on Netflix’s political thriller A House of Dynamite, and he recently portrayed Alex Murdaugh in Hulu’s limited series Murdaugh: Death in the Family. He also just wrapped production on F.A.S.T., the upcoming Warner Bros. action-thriller penned by Taylor Sheridan — marking his first collaboration with the prolific Yellowstone creator. Indeed, it's surprising he even found time to write that. Other recent credits include leading Apple TV’s The Last Frontier and playing Lakers coach Jerry West in HBO’s Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.