New York Times bestselling author and comic creator Brian K. Vaughan has been tapped by Legendary to write their live-action Gundam movie. Vaughan signed a three-year deal with the studio back in December and the live-action movie was announced last summer. This is the first live-action project for the massively popular franchise, which is about to celebrate its fortieth anniversary next month. Vaughan, who is arguably best known for creating comic book series like Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, and Runaways, is also on board as executive producer on the project.

The live-action Gundam movie was announced over the summer, but there were not many details available at the time. The only real details that were announced included the fact that Cale Boyter would serve as producer and Sunrise was teaming with Legendary to put the movie out. This news was announced at last year's Anime Expo in Los Angeles, though many believed it was big enough to have benefitted from a huge San Diego Comic-Con announcement. However, many believe that the Anime Expo kept it within the franchise's roots.

The Gundam series, which started in 1979, takes place in the Universal Century, which is an era where people have emigrated to space colonies due to overpopulation on Earth. The people that have chosen to leave Earth later decide that they want their autonomy, so they launch a war against the Earth inhabitants. They pilot robots, which are called mobile suits. The story started with a more magical vibe, but later changed to a focus on the military aspects. Since its release nearly 40 years ago, the franchise has become a multi-billion dollar industry spawning animated shows, toys, and video games.

Plot details for the live-action Gundam movie are being kept under wraps for the time being, but we should have some story information coming soon. With that being said, one can easily see the project starting as an origin story, leading to the war with Earth in the mobile suits. That is only speculation at this time, but it seems like a logical way to introduce a live-action franchise to the masses. If pulled off in the right way, the movie could end up sparking a series that will guarantee more Gundam movies in the years to come.

Ready Player One took some influence from the Gundam franchise and the movie featured a cameo that made some hardcore fans pretty happy. 40 years after the creation of the original franchise seems like the perfect time to launch a live-action movie universe, so let's hope that more details, including a director and cast are announced in the coming months. It seems likely that if everything goes according to plan, we could end up seeing the live-action Gundam movie by the end of 2020 or at the beginning of 2021, depending on how long it takes to develop the project. Deadline was the first to announce that Brian K. Vaughan is penning the live-action Gundam script.