Gale Anne Hurd On Gaiking And Pacific Rim Comparisons
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If Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is a success this summer, we’re sure to see more giant-robot films heading to multiplex in the near future. And while del Toro’s summer blockbuster is getting all the press right now, producer Gale Anne Hurd has also been developing a film based on the Japanese anime Gaiking for some time now.
While Gaiking is still a long way from theaters, Gale Anne Hurd recently talked about the project with Collider. Gaiking is currently looking for a writer and director that will bridge American sensibilities with the Japanese source material. Hurd’s Valhalla Entertainment wants to nail down the approach of the film before rushing into production.
It’s early on, I’d hate to do that before the writers have an opportunity to look at the material and sit down with me. I don’t think we want it to look like something you’ve already seen on screen before. As you know, if you know Gaiking, it’s really the character driven part of it that’s so compelling to all of us. It’s more important to get the right writer and the right take than it is to do something in a particular timeframe.
Gaiking is a Japanese anime from the late ’70s that eventually made its way to the U.S., where it was re-branded as Shogun Warriors by the toy company Mattel, and then introduced as a cartoon series, Force Five. The new movie would follow a young man who is recruited to be the lead pilot for the Super Robot Gaiking Squad. When an alien invasion threatens to take over the planet, the young pilot and his team are Earth’s last line of defense.
Hurd is used to developing projects that are very similar to existing films or other projects in development. In this case, Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is due in theaters this summer, but Hurd isn’t letting herself be distracted by that film, instead focusing on making the best movie she can. She says:
I’ve been first and second. I did Armageddon, there was also Deep Impact and we ended up being the most successful movie at the box office that year in the world even though we were second. I also did Dante’s Peak. There were three underwater films released when we made The Abyss. I think the most important thing is to make the best film you can.
Hopefully, Gaiking will be worth the wait. With the development of a Voltron movie and more Transformers films, Hollywood seems to have plenty more Giant Freakin’ Robots on the horizon.
