Updates on the Imagi Gatchaman Movie

Recently there have been several updates on the Imagi Gatchaman movie.

* Kevin Munroe has signed on to direct the movie version of Dark Horse's comic book Dylan Dog -- which means he will not be directing the Gatchaman movie. Munroe also directed Imagi's TMNT.

* Charlie Wen, a lifelong fan and one of the character designers for Gatchaman at Imagi, has also left the project because, in his own words, "The original vision for the film was fun and a bit edgy---appealed to me. The project's been through lots of changes, rewrites (like any film), ended up with a different director recently. The vision's changed since I first joined, and seems to be going towards a younger Power Rangers audience---I wanted to see a Gatchaman that I would love to see, and didn't want to see it go this direction, so I departed from Imagi and took an Art Directing/Character Designing gig on Thundercats."

* Jun Falkenstein is the new director for the Gatchaman movie. She intends to blog about working on the film for fans. She wrote, "I know that the minute they announce me as director, all these fans will...see that pretty much the biggest directing credit I have is 'The Tigger Movie' - and then they will freak out, because how dare I direct their beloved (INSERT FILM TITLE HERE LATER) when "all I have done" is this rated G film for little kids. Oh yes, they will freak out. And you know what, I can't say that I will blame them. So...I started these 'journal entries' to not only document the process of directing an animated feature...but also to attempt to convince worried fans that I'm actually a pretty big geek and fan of the genre - and that I have no intention of softening down the film when the source material is so kick-ass."

* Ms. Falkenstein verified that the film's release will most likely now be in early 2010.

In fandom itself, not everyone is sad to see Kevin Munroe go, and some fans have high hopes that Jun Falkenstein will help create a film that will appeal to both adults and children. As one fan pointed out, Top Cow's comics were also supposed to be "dark and edgy," and they crashed and burned -- badly. Meanwhile, films like The Incredibles, which appeal to viewers of all ages, have been box office gold. So here's hoping for something more like the latter than the former!

Thanks to everyone who's contributed information and discussion, including tatsunokofan, Wendy Dinsmore (who's wonderful at verifying information), and Wendy's anonymous source.