By Today in left-field awesomeness, Legendary Entertainment has announced that Eisner-winning comic writer Brian K Vaughan will be writing the screenplay for their live-action Mobile Suit Gundam film.
Vaughan—whose Saga with artist Fiona Staples swept the Eisner Awards in 2013, and is currently on hiatus—already has a three-year contract with Legendary, where other projects in relation to his comic work are said to be cooking.
The adaptation has been in the works for some time now, though Vaughan’s hiring would indicate a steady course. With the financial flop of the Ghost in the Shell adaptation and the live-action Akira in a continual limbo, perhaps some good old-fashioned giant robots can save the day for anime.
The Gundam franchise started in 1979 with original creator Yoshiyuki Tomino’s series at Sunrise, and has since spawned numerous spin-off series, films, video games, manga adaptations, and public monuments.
Basically, it’s a Japanese cultural icon, and is pretty awesome. If there’s a writer who’s tuned into the inner-workings of epic sci-fi and human stories, you could do worse than BKV.
A busy guy, Vaughan is also set to serve as an executive producer on the FX series adaptation of his comic Y: The Last Man, which featured art by Pia Guerra.
No further details, but hopefully we start to hear more about the project in the coming months.
Brian K. Vaughan To Pen ‘Gundam’ Live-Action Adaptation For Legendary [Deadline]