During a special screening of Mobile Suit Gundam Freedom Seed This week in Japan, director Mitsuo Fukuda made the surprise announcement that a new Mobile Suit Gundam project is in the works. Also shared on social media, the new anime project is titled Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom Zero.

The publication confirms that Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom Zero will act as a prequel to Mobile Suit Gundam Freedom Seed, which was released in theaters earlier this year. It will also serve as a sequel to 2004. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Fate.

Not much else is known about the new project, not even the medium by which it will be told. It was originally planned to be an OVA, but Mitsuo Fukuda stated that “it hasn’t been decided.” However, we could soon get more clarification.

“A special teaser video will be released at the end of the screening of the second special edition of the film.” the announcement post says. “Expect more updates.”

While the latest announcement came as a surprise, it probably shouldn’t have been so unexpected given the success Gundam Seed Freedom It was in theaters.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom open in theaters in Japan on January 26, 2024, before hitting theaters in North America in May. It became the fastest Japanese film to surpass the million yen mark. It sold 630,000 tickets and earned 1.06 billion yen (about $7.2 million) in its first three days, making it the highest three-day opening in history for a gundam movie. It is also now the highest-grossing Gundam movie in history.

In CE75, the fighting still continues. There are independence movements and attacks by Blue Cosmos… To calm the situation, a global peace monitoring agency called COMPASS is created, with Lacus as its first president. As members of COMPASS, Kira and her comrades intervene in several regional battles. Then, a newly created nation called the Foundation proposes a joint operation against a stronghold of the Blue Cosmos.

We are currently in the middle of celebrating the 45th anniversary of the gundam franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise pioneered the mecha genre. The Mobile Suit Gundam television series debuted in 1979, throwing giant robots into a militaristic environment. The series’ popularity helped spawn an entire franchise that now includes 50 television series, films, and OVAs, as well as manga, novels, and video games.

In addition to this new project, we recently received news that the live-action gundam movie has finally found its director in Jim Mickle (Sweet tooth). The upcoming film, first announced in 2018 by Legendary Entertainment, is no longer attached to Netflix.