An American live-action Star Blazers movie, from Usual Suspects writer Chris McQuarrie?

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

After years of drifting around Hollywood seeking salvation, a live-action STAR BLAZERS is finally picking up some heat.

Deadline says that Skydance Productions (who co-financed TRUE GRIT) is angling for the rights to the animated property, with the intention of getting Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE WOLVERINE, WAY OF THE GUN) to adapt.

But wait — maybe not so fast. AICN says they’ve heard the rights are actually still up for grabs, and that Lucasfilm (among others) is also currently feeling nostalgic and chasing the Argo.

The series has already come to life in its home country of Japan as the recently released SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (get a glimpse of the eye-scorching FX and massive space battles below).

The original epic 1970s “Star Blazers” animated show (a dubbed version of Japan’s “Space Battleship Yamato”) took place in the late 22nd century after a race of blue-skinned aliens called Gamilons dropped a whole bunch of radioactive bombs on our planet (their method of terraforming), forcing humanity’s survivors into underground cities. The benevolent queen of distant world Iscandar offers mankind a device that can repair the damage to Earth… but no delivery options. So the remaining humans salvage an old battleship and make it spaceworthy, collect a diverse crew, and head off through the galaxy punching huge holes in things with the Wave Motion Gun.