Warner Bros buys Robotech live action film rights, Tobey Maguire to star

With a live action Voltron film also in the works, some good news for fans of Transformers (as most are
probably also very admirers of the Robotech and Macross cartoon series), is that Warner Bros have bought
the rights to do a live action Robotech film to star Tobey Maguire (whose recent Spider-Man 3 film was crap) in the
lead. Doing this in live action form won't be cheap and is likely to cost at least $US 200 mill to make.
No director has been signed on as yet, as a script is only being started, so this won't come out till 2009
at the earliest, or maybe the year after that.



From Hollywood Reporter.
Maguire, WB attack the big screen with 'Robotech'By Borys Kit.
Sept 7, 2007.

After slipping on a mask for Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire might be slipping into a giant robot for Robotech.
After a lengthy negotiation, Warner Bros. Pictures has picked up the rights to bring anime classic Robotech,
which featured giant robots known as mechas, to the big screen. Maguire is producing through his Maguire
Entertainment banner and is eyeing the lead role in what the studio plans on being a tentpole sci-fi franchise.
'We are very excited to bring 'Robotech' to the big screen ; there's a rich mythology that'll be a great
foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film', Maguire said. Drew Crevello also is producing
through his Supercool Hollywood BigTime Prods. Craig Zahler (The Brigands of Rattleborge) has been tapped
to write the screenplay. Robotech was a cartoon series during the 1980s from Harmony Gold USA and Tatsunoko
Prods. It was re-edited and re-dialogued to combine three Japanese anime series to give the producers enough
episodes to air as a daily syndicated series.


A sprawling sci-fi epic, Robotech takes place at a time when Earth has developed giant robots from the technology
on an alien spacecraft that crashed on a South Pacific isle. Mankind is forced to use the technology to fend off
three successive waves of alien invasions. The first invasion concerns a battle with a race of giant warriors
who seek to retrieve their flagship's energy source known as 'protoculture' and the planet's survival ends up
in the hands of two young pilots. Frank Agrama of rights-holder Harmony Gold will exec produce ; Jason Netter
will serve in a producer capacity. Matthew Reilly brought the project to Warners and is overseeing. Daniel
Shafer brought the project to Maguire and will shepherd for the company. The success of DreamWorks/Paramount's
$US 311 million-grossing Transformers has other studios looking to assemble a giant robot movie of their own.
Last month, Regency picked up 1980s Japanese anime series Voltron, with Mark Gordon attached to produce. Ironically,
Warners had the first giant robot movie back in 1999 : Brad Bird's animated feature The Iron Giant.
Maguire is repped by CAA, Management 360 and attorney Steve Warren. Zahler is repped by UTA and attorney P.J. Shapiro.