New Gundam Movie Finally Hits Theaters After Two Decades In Development

Summary

• Get ready, Gundam fans! SEED Freedom hits US theaters on May 7-8, 2024, with Japanese language and English dubbed versions.
• SEED Freedom is the long-awaited third installment of the SEED storyline, a culmination of years of work by Fukuda and Morosawa.
• Set after SEED Destiny, SEED Freedom delves into the conflicts between naturals and coordinators in a futuristic era of advanced mobile suits.

May is the month for Mobile Suit Gundam and mecha fans as the long-awaited release of the latest installment of the Gundam SEED series hits U.S. theaters this week for a limited time. Taking place in a time when humanity has successfully conquered space and our own human biology, the new release will explore the conflicts between humans native to Earth and those born and bred in outer space.

Mitsuo Fukuda, Chiaki Morosawa, and Riu Goto’s Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, which adapts Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate’s original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, debuted last January in Japan and quickly went on to be the most profitable movie in the entire Gundam franchise.

As per an announcement from anime entertainment provider Fathom Events, SEED Freedom will be released in US theaters on May 7-8, 2024. The showings on May 7 will feature the original Japanese language version accompanied by English subtitles. The screening on May 8 will feature the English dubbed version of the film. Fans can buy and reserve seats via the Fathom Event website.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom Was A Long Time In The Making

US Fans Will Finally Be Able to Watch the Movie that Was 20 Years in the Making

Seed Freedom is the third release of the SEED storyline, which is the brainchild of the husband and wife team of Fukuda and Morosawa. The first installment of the storyline was Mobile Suit Gundam SEED – an animated television series that ran for 50 episodes between 2002-2003. That was followed by the sequel series, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, which ran for another 50 episodes in 2004-2005.

Fukuda and Morosawa had begun working on SEED Freedom in 2006, when Morosawa’s health took a turn for the worse – and further work on the project was postponed. Only after her death in 2014 was the decision made to finish the project and base it on the extensive notes Morosawa had continued to make on it over the years during her convalescence.

SEED Freedom Picks Up Where SEED Destiny Ends

Credited with reviving the Gundam anime franchise, the SEED series takes place in the alternate Gundam timeline known as the Cosmic Era, which occurs in the future of the franchise’s original Universal Century era. With the colonization of space no longer the most pressing matter, humanity turns to age-old habits, namely the internecine conflict between humans in space, humans on Earth, and between humans born naturally, and coordinators – genetically enhanced humans. These conflicts are made more deadly with the introduction of advanced Mobile Gundam Suits that include an upgraded armament load and a near impenetrable phase armor system.

Ultimate war breaks out between the largely Earth-based “naturals” – and the space-based “coordinators” are unable to contain their mutual animosity. After years of war, events come to a head when several of the advanced mobile suits are stolen and each side scrambles to take advantage of the ensuing chaos and conflict. After years of war between shifting alliances of naturals and coordinators, SEED Destiny ends with the promise of a peaceful future.

SEED Freedom occurs a few years after the events of SEED Destiny and while many opponents of the previous war have made peace, insurgent and terrorist groups unhappy with the outcome begin agitating through a campaign of universal violence. In another classic Mobile Suit Gundam plot twist – the question of SEED Freedom is whether naturals and coordinators will finally be able to come together against forces that are aligned against them both.

Source: Fathom Events