So us Robotech fans can dream. If James Wan is on board as the director. Does this mean that Sony is moving ahead full steam as reported? Could a live action movie look something like these props? The truth is that Macross has been around 30 years along side Transformers and the Marvel Universe.
So yes, there are plenty of references that can be used to make the movie. It all sounds good on CG but props like helmets, the cockpits, buildings, and even the actors all do not have to look far. They exist in the Macross fandom world.
For decades I have dreamed of a Ken Watanabe role for Robotech. Not only has he moved into the Godzilla movie role, he did a movie that I adore to this day, the historical movie, "Letters From Iwo Jima". To me the fact that he became General Kuribayashi of the Japanese Imperial Army just solidified my thought that Captain Gloval should be a strong military leader. And just like Kuribayashi fought with his life to save Japan from an invading superior American military, Admiral Gloval must do the same for the entire human race against the Zentradi Supervision Army.
His role in Inception tells me that he can act and raise the stakes of Robotech into the realm of more than just another Pacific Rim movie. In fact, I'd say that Ken Watanabe would move Robotech past Twilight, Hunger Games, and Divergent as a franchise. I'll be safe to say that it could easily surpass Star Trek and Star Wars by JJ Abrams!
All it needs is real depth. An actor playing the role of Captain Gloval with heart felt responsibility for U.N. Spacey and the SDF-1 can only be done by actor Ken Watanabe.
I don't even need to explain who he is. Hollywood already loves him, and Japan should make him a national treasure while we still have him.
As for Director James Wan? It would solidify his status as a premiere director if he can manage to involve Ken Watanabe into a space drama. And to convince the audience that this isn't just another explosion movie like Furious 7 nor Pacific Rim. And certainly it can move Robotech up to the likes of movies like Alien and Space Odyssey 2001. Which are established as epic movies for its time. And yes they are science fiction but are also considered some of the most dramatic movies of all time.
To me, Robotech can become some of the most action packed dramas in the history of science fiction. Perhaps much can be well said for the Ang Lee drama "Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger" where audiences were exposed to extreme Chinese drama but also peppered with traditional Chinese martial arts which made the film so thrilling that it was hard to grasp as a category.
Robotech in many ways is the same thing. Although there is mecha and a lot of action, the franchise also has very deep human characters which revolve around a rotating cast. Admiral Gloval takes on a very young crew to man the SDF-1. The entire deck is led by women half his age. Lisa Hayes is the a daughter of the Admiral in U.N. Spacey. And he constantly looks to her for assurances and calm within the young crew as they battle the Zentradi invasion.
Ken Watanabe will bring a sort of realism and fear. After all, Robotech won't be a movie if we don't feel the fear of death for mankind. In many ways, SDF-1 brought life on Earth. We are the descendants of creators who felt it was necessary for women and men to live together, love, and pro-create. Zentradi were the other descendants who were cloned and all-male with no other intention but war. Later in the Japanese Macross Movie, it was revealed that the Meltrandi were the descendants of our creators who were all-female and the enemy of the Zentradi. It's with that, that we are mixed in the middle of a interstellar war.
Admiral Gloval will look to Lynn Minmay, Rick Hunter, and Lisa Hayes to find a way to get out of the mess. And it'll come down to one song. "Do Your Remember Love?" written by the creators as a simple love song that resonates in the DNA of the Zentradi race that saves mankind.
In essence, Zentradi historian, Exodor realizes that we are descendants of the same creators and that we are considered "Protoculture". A term designated for a race that existed before Zentradi. In essence, Zentradi forces in factions turn against themselves to protect mankind.
Epic? Sure it is. But it's a story 30 years old. We fans know this love story but does the new audience? Well I'm one to say that actor Ken Watanabe can bring this to the table. And sure even Robotech audiences won't know this story because it was purposely removed for the U.S. market. Dumbing down the story now will only destroy a global franchise.
Ken Watanabe for Admiral Gloval... Need I say more?
Without hesitation every fangirl of Japanese movies will agree that Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers, Red Cliff, The Returner) is the most famous heart throb in the business. His ability to speak Chinese, Japanese, and English makes him the Asian actor of the decade. And without doubt he has to play Rick Hunter. For me, it just makes sense that Rick Hunter or Hikaru Ichijo be a Japanese actor.
There has been rumors of Toby McGuire wanted to play the role, but since Chinese-American James Wan is at the helm of the franchise, I would hope that he realizes that the entire Japanese Macross franchise was written with intentions of a diverse group of characters. Each character represents a nation already. We are talking about U.N. Spacey after all.
Hikaru or Rick has to be Japanese! And yes, I agree that Rory or Roy Fokker has to be American, but let's not fuss. This is a no brainer and nobody will complain that Takeshi Kaneshiro takes a spot on the Robotech movie.
So James Wan? What are you waiting for. Pick up the phone and call CEO Mr. Kazuo Hirai of Sony and tell him you want Takeshi Kaneshiro as the lead actor in your film. And that this won't turn out to be a Seth Rogan Interview movie!
Trust me, Robotech fans will miss the significance but the entire nation of Japan, not to mention China and a long list of female fans will get it.
Like Takeshi said in his English interview as well as dozens of Japanese and Chinese news interviews, 2015 is a different market for Hollywood movies. Asian actors are a must as China has opened their markets to movies. And if Sony Pictures is going to back into the running, they must move quickly to establish a global franchise which expands into China as well as Europe and Japan. Sony Pictures is one of the few studios who is struggling to compete. We all know that Disney owns their own properties like Frozen but also owns the Marvel franchise (Avengers, Iron Man, Hulk etc...) and of course this years' Star Wars franchise.
WB, although headed by an Japanese American CEO, has admitted that DC Comics is a bit darker and much more fragmented market but easily points to Dark Knight and TV's Flash and Arrow franchises as moneymakers. Also WB has pointed to the upcoming Superman vs Batman film which will introduce Wonder Woman as a spin off franchise.
Sony is in desperate need of a new franchise. And for me, it's only logic that Japanese stars finally enter the realm of Anime-to-motion-picture productions.
Maybe it's just me but when Rick Hunter picked Lisa Hayes as his lover, I was immediately glad because I've always saw Lisa Hayes played by my favorite singer/actor/models Takako Uehara. Her personality is quiet and yet she is one of the most famous members of SPEED in Japan. And unlike other girl bands, SPEED has long tested the lifespan of time. That's because SPEED has resonated outside of Japan across to even Hong Kong and Singapore as hit singers.
And although Takako Uehara is a singer, playing the role of Lisa Hayes just adds the touch that all of us fans adore. A beautiful Japanese girl who just stands out as the proper quiet and sweet daughter of an admiral. And one that Captain Gloval relies on as his backbone of the SDF-1.
Also Rick Hunter finds himself in love with both Lynn Minmay and Lisa Hayes with the hard decision to fall for one, whilst fending off the Zentradi in the battle for mankind.
Epic? Of course it is. And that's why for me, James Wan has to choose somebody like Takako Uehara as Misa Hayase (Lisa Hayes)!
She's a New Yorker and she is a princess of songs in Japan. Yet she's virtually unknown in America. Sometimes I wonder if Japanese stars have a chance in America even when they are Americans. Robotech is the series that broke new grounds for Anime in the United States. However, what about song? JPOP nation? The other aspect of the following for Japanese culture?
Obviously James Wan has an opportunity to re-integrate song back into the Robotech series where it was removed from the original Macross series in Japan. The idea and notion that Sony would use some karaoke songs from Harmony Gold for the Lynn Minmay character would only make the franchise a huge failure in Japan.
To succeed, director James Wan would have to integrate a Japanese singer or a real singer into the Lynn Minmay role? I mean Lynn Minmay became the singer of Macross city and even became queen as Miss Macross. That character also saves the human race from the Zentradi invasion right?
Well us Robotech fans know this, but do Robotech fans know the likes of Hikaru Utada? James Wan could rewrite history by bringing in Hikaru Utada's fans from the world, and Robotech fans from the United States. Together Japan's awaiting fames could really happen on the big screen.
I say Hikaru Utada for Lynn Minmay all the way! Long live Utada and let's do something right, not only for Robotech but for Japanese music and anime as a culture.
Perhaps the biggest grudge that us fans have about the latest Transformers franchise is the fact that director Michael Bay completely abandoned Marvel Comics and even Hasbro's legacy of the Transformers. Perhaps the fact that Bumble Bee is a Camaro and Megatron is a tank says it all. I mean I literally turned off my set when I saw the first 10 minutes of the movie. I was just disappointed that Bay never paid homage to Shoji Kawamori the founding father of the toy mecha designs of Transformers. (true story).
In case you are wondering, Robotech must pay homage to Mr. Kawamori because Robotech Macross Saga was written, drawn, and designed by Shoji Kawamori. If they don't aggressively seek him to assist in the movie, then at least pay respect to the original designs.
In general James Wan (Saw, Insidious, Conjuring, Furious 7) has to make sure to avoid what Michael Bay and Transformers did. I'll go back to the toy history for example. Most of us Robotech fans know the history of the Veritech fighters, a.ka. VF-1 fighters. They are jets that transforms into robots 50 feet tall to battle the Zentradi. But in the toy world, it wasn't so clear.
That's because the company Bandai made the toys available for both Robotech as well as Transformers. In other words, the same toy covered two franchises at the time. If that's not confusing enough, they also represented different types of robots.
In Transformers, the VF-1 became Jetfire. It was a hot seller because the toy was much more appreciated than the other Transformers toys. The level of complexity and engineering was much higher quality for those toys. On the other hand Robotech offered them as Veritech fighters.
To get around the lawsuits that Hasbro and Harmony Gold had towards each other, Transformers decided to switch the names and designs of the Jetfire character to today's Skyfire. Confused? Well this actually ties into the Robotech saga so listen closely.
First, not only did Marvel Comics or Hasbro abandon the original Jetfire design, they completely abandoned Japanese designs for their own American design. Sound familiar? (Transformers movies?)
Skyfire became this thing below.
Okay as a kid growing up we knew that Skyfire was the Jetfire toy but obviously as you can see it's completely off mark in regards to the character. Skyfire and Jetfire looked different.
If that wasn't bad enough, well try Michael Bay. Sure, he didn't bother to create new characters for the movie series, but he just totally ruined Skyfire.
I mean seriously? Does this old bot look anything like Jetfire to you? Does it pay homage to founding father Shoji Kawamori? I mean I wonder what Kawamori thinks when he watches Transformers movies and realized they went from, Jetfire the toy, to Skyfire the diluted Jetfire, to this!?
And this is the reason why I say James Wan better pay homage! This is what the Veritech fighter used to look like in the series.
And sure it looks like Jetfire the toy. It's supposed to! It's the same design. But not a derivative like Skyfire. And hopefully never towards the design by Michael Bay. Yuck!
Remember folks, we are Robotech fans and we waited 30 years for this Sony film. If James Wan has any respect, he'll beg Shoji Kawamori to join the group. And include not just Harmony Gold as the rights owner, but Tatsunoko Pro and Big West to chime into the film as part of the team.
No dilutions in design please! Keep the Veritechs in tact.
(Original Jetfire animation before the dispute with Robotech)
After just reading up on the Robotech news, I'm just amazed on how fast Sony has moved to secure a director. With James Wan signing on as the director for Macross, can he cast the right actors for the movie? In my book, I would definitely move away from Hollywood and go for the right people to draw in fans for the characters. It's true that the stars of the show are mecha or the Veritech fighters which transforms into the best looking robots ever known to man, but the three main characters of Lynn Minmay, Rick Hunter, and Lisa Hayes have to match.
In Japan, Lisa Hayes is known as Misa Hayase. Rick Hunter as Hikaru Ichijo and Lynn Minmay as herself. The three fall into a love triangle and later Rick picks Lisa over Lynn as the Earth battles the invading Zentradi race. Lynn Minmay holds the key to saving the human race with her ability to sing a song. A simple song! It's originally a love song from the founders of our race. And yes Zentradi and Humans are from the same founders. So yes, there is a deeper meaning with the story. Call it God or Evolution, either way the old love song is embedded in their DNA which turns them to peace and protection of us as "proto-culture". Meaning an ancient species before Zentradi.
So who should be the lead actors? Takeshi Kaneshiro (The Returner, House of Flying Daggers) as Hikaru Ichijo. Takako Uehara (Actor/model of SPEED) as Misa Hayase, Hikaru Utada (Singer/Actor) as Lynn Minmay.
We've got the three main Japanese actors down right? But what about the American side? Characters Roy Fokker (Rory Focker) and Claudia come to mind as pure Americans. For me, I've always saw Rory as the Sempai or old brother type. People have talked about Leo or Tobey but for me it's somebody like Brad Pitt! Why not Brad? He seems open to super hero pilot roles. And for Claudia? She has to be elegant, tall, and thin. Why not somebody from the Victoria Secrets realm? Tyra Banks?
Surely the two sides of the Pacific can come together to accept really bigger than life actors. Each of these actors hold their own without Robotech. Having them involved would only solidify the base.
How about other possibles? There are two main characters that are important... captains. Captain Gloval is the head of the SDF-1. However there is also Lisa's father the Admiral who handles Alaska base. Both are important to the series and can easily be filled by great Japanese actors famous in their own right in the United States. I'm talking about Ken Watanabe as Gloval and George Takei as the Admiral. Why not? Why hold back on fame?
Obviously the other stars in the film will wear heavy make-up. The Zentradi are aliens 50 feet tall and have green skin. It's hard to pick and choose famous actors for a role like that, but I have so many ideas for actors that fit the role. The Exodor who is a chief historian and scientist is the soft character on their side. I can only see one actor to fit this role. And that's Dr. Flox himself. Enterprise had some great actors and Flox played by John Billingsley just fits so perfectly. He has that cute sense and strong responsibility to fit the role. And the role for Breetai? The General of the Supervision Army? None other than Worf! Michael Dorn just fits the figure of Breetai in my book and why not? He's an authority figure with the warrior instinct!
Let's not joke around! James Wan has to go back to the origins. He has to either watch the Japanese release of Macross or in his case maybe the Hong Kong release of the series in Cantonese. Both releases would suffice in finding out which actor fits which character.
Two other characters that is a must for the Robotech movie include Miriya and Max. They are part of the Skull Squadron. Miriya is a Meltrandi defector who marries Max and becomes the first ever inter-species couple. That's not saying much since the DNA of both are from the same origins.
Thinking heavily on actors, I think Miriya can be Kristen Stewart. I know she's had a rough few years in her career, but the Twilight fans must have their heroin come back to the big screen. And for Max? He's the sharp shooter and the most loyal pilot amongst the crowd. For Miriya's future husband, I believe the actor has to be her actual boyfriend Robert Pattinson. In fact, his role as Edward just fits the mold of Max. Max is Edward!
Hey we are all allowed to dream. For us Robotech fans, it's been a long 30 years. This is long overdue. Sony and James Wan can put this together using an all-star cast.
