The Gundam universe is no stranger to revisiting some of its classic universes. Over the course of the franchise, series like the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam SEED, Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing have all taken place in different universes. Even Gundam GQuuuuuuX took place in an alternate timeline that saw the Principality of Zeon get their hands on the Gundam first, creating an entirely new universe. At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the Gundam franchise shared a first look at its next Gundam television series, and in doing so, has confirmed a wildly different universe than anything we’ve seen before.
Gundam is teaming up with director Kenji Kamiyama (Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) for Mobile Suit Gundam RG XARX-ZERO. This brand new anime is set to arrive next year and rather than focusing on the war between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon, like so many of its predecessors, XARX-ZERO will explore entirely new territory for the franchise. Taking place in a universe dubbed “A.A.,” which stands for “After Apocalypse,” the anime series will act as a prequel to the upcoming video game, Gundam: Rogue Orbit. This new universe will introduce something that many other Gundam universes did not feature, as “A.A” will feature extraterrestrials. You can check out the first trailer below.
Alongside the new trailer, Bandai Namco Filmworks released a description of what we can expect from this brand new universe. “The three revelations delivered by the Autonomous Interstellar Object from another galaxy ushered in an age of unprecedented prosperity, allowing humanity to expand across the entire solar system. Gravity Control. FTL Communication. Cognitive Materialization. Yet less than ten years after its discovery, the Object that had delivered these three revelations suddenly ran rampant, spawning an aggressive, self-proliferating ecosystem. Humanity came to see this unknown ecosystem as the Apocalypse. For three months, humanity fought the Apocalypse to a standstill in orbit above Earth. Forced to abandon the planet, humanity marked that year as A.A. 1—the first year After Apocalypse. By A.A. 45, children born on the Moon and in space colonies have never known life without the Apocalypse. And on the lunar surface, a boy named Ray Azumi awakens.”
Releasing with the new trailer and story description, Bandai Namco confirmed that the series takes place around ninety years prior to the events of Gundam: Rogue Orbit. While Sunrise will be at the steering wheel for this new project, they are being joined by SOLA Entertainment, who anime fans might know best for its work on Rick and Morty: The Anime, Lazarus, and Rooster Fighter. The production house is also planning to helm the first-ever Joker-focused anime via the upcoming Joker: Laugh Riot, though that Clown Prince of Crime series has yet to release a trailer.
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