Gatchaman gets writer

Before it was BATTLE OF THE PLANETS and G-FORCE, it was GATCHAMAN. And it will be again! The beauty of old licenses.
Like THUNDERCATS, GI JOE and TMNT, GATCHAMAN rides the latest wave of nostalgia toward the beaches of profit.

The Japanese animated series (or “anime”, as some folks call it) GATCHAMAN is getting the big-screen treatment from director Kevin Monroe, who already brought the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES from cel animation to full CG. And now he’s got help from another ‘toon veteran, Paul Dini.

Dini, one of the masterminds behind the exceptional 90s BATMAN animated series (as well as writing many comics), will work on the new story of five superpowered youngsters who fight an alien menace with their ship that turns into a fiery phoenix. The heroes should fly into theaters in early 2009, a year already packed with animated flicks.