Gundam: Live-action movie taps Sweet Tooth showrunner Jim Mickle as director

Deadline reports that Sweet Tooth showrunner Jim Mickle has been tapped to write and direct the live-action adaptation of Gundam, which is being co-developed by Legendary and Bandai Namco Filmworks.

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise, Gundam has been described as a space opera depicting a battle waged between massive mechs and armies of space colonies fighting for independence from Earth. The Gundam franchise has grown into a juggernaut over the decades, with dozens of TV shows, video games, manga, and much more.

Now, you may recall that this isn’t the first time Hollywood has attempted to get a live-action Gundam movie off the ground. It was announced in 2021 that Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) was working on a Gundam movie for Netflix and he seemed quite pumped about the project. Some concept art was even released showcasing one of the giant mechs, but Deadline’s report states that Vogt-Roberts and Netflix are no longer involved in the project.

In addition to Sweet Tooth, Mickle is also known for Stake Land, the post-apocalyptic vampire movie which has become a cult favourite. Mickle also helmed We Are What We Are, Cold in July, and In the Shadow of the Moon. He also developed the Hap and Leonard TV series, which was sadly cancelled after three seasons.

Sweet Tooth came to an end this summer after three seasons on Netflix. Based on the comic series created by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth follows a loveable boy who’s part human and part deer who searches for family and home with a gruff protector on an epic adventure across a post-apocalyptic world. Our own Steve Seigh was a big fan of the final season. “Sweet Tooth series creator Jim Mickle had mountains to climb while adapting Jeff Lemire’s bizarre fairytale for live-action. As a diehard fan of the source material, I would have been among the first to call the Netflix show out for misrepresentation or failed messaging,” Seigh wrote in his review. “Thankfully, Netflix’s Sweet Tooth honors the original story and puts some more meat on the bone. Don’t let the adorable hybrids fool you; Sweet Tooth is a brutal bit of fiction with valuable lessons to teach us all. I never could have imagined this level of care and quality going into a live-action adaptation of Sweet Tooth, and here I stand, gobsmacked and tipping my hat.“

What do you think of Jim Mickle taking over as director of the live-action Gundam movie?