The best Japanese sci-fi movies are coming to American theaters

by Jonathan Klotz
| Published 39 seconds ago

2025 was the year that anime films finally debuted at the North American box office, starting with Single settlement Back in January, and then Demon Slayer: Infinity Fortress It became the highest-grossing foreign film in history. One of the oldest and most successful animated series brings its latest movie to theaters in 2026, when Mobile suit Gundam Hathaway: The Magic of the Nymph Circe Brings mecha to the big screen.

It won’t be as successful Demon SlayerBut Gundam is very popular and this will be the first mainline Universal Century entry since Hathaway’s first film in 2021.

Back to the global century

The Universal Century is the primary timeline of shows and films around which the entire Gundam series revolves. Think of it as the Earth-616 equivalent of marvel universe. Gundam Wing, The witch from Mercury, G Gundam, Gundam SeedsAll of this takes place in alternate universes separate from the main Universal Century. That’s why, when it was announced years ago that Hathaway’s novels would be adapted into novels Anime For the first time since its publication in 1989, giant mecha fans grappling with the politics of space and philosophizing about the nature of war have lost their minds.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway Picks up years after the legendary Char counterattackFrom 1988, by highlighting Noah Hathaway, the leader of a terrorist group known as Mafti. Of course, this is Earth propaganda, and Mufti is really rebelling against the tyrannical Earth Federation, but as with every story in this series, there are shades of gray to everyone. Char didn’t believe humanity could change for the better, and Hathaway believes they could, but if they didn’t, he would make them change.

Although the story was published nearly 40 years ago, the first trailer for the film Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: Magic of the Nymph Circe Looks amazing. There are no Gundam duels, but we do see Hathaway’s Gundam take to the air and begin to descend into the depths of the ocean, a place only a few Gundam personnel have ever been before, particularly Deathscythe from Gundam Wing. We don’t know much more about what Hathaway is up to, but thanks to Kenneth, the man he’s trying to bring to justice, we get the classic Gundam line: “Never forget that the victor is the one who was right.”

Gundam brought anime to North America

The magic of the nymph Circe It looks to continue where the first film left off. Hathaway It was never released in theaters in 2021 and was released directly by Netflix In the West to critical acclaim and fans, especially old school fans Char counterattack And the original Mobile Suit Gundam. This will be a big test for the mecha series to see if it can keep up with the new kids on the block, but it doesn’t have to break $100 million like Demon Slayer an act; Even a $20 million domestic box office would be a record triumph for the film.

Mobile Suit Gundam He helped bring anime to North America in the 1980s Gundam Wing The inclusion of Toonami in the mid-90s made anime boom, so it’s about time the franchise made a big move during the new golden age of anime. There’s no release date yet for The Sorcery of Nymph Circe in North America, but the film will debut in Japan in January, so we can probably expect it around the spring anime season.

Those who want to catch the premiere on the big screen can watch Hathaway On Netflix now, while Char counterattack Available on Crunchyroll.

If you’ve never watched a Gundam anime, we also have advice on where to start Mobile Suit Gundam.

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