Zeta Gundam Set the Legacy Sequel Blueprint

We live in a new age of legacy sequels these days, the not-quite-a-reboot movement of smashing together a new generation of potential heroes with the old vanguard we know and love. Everyone’s doing it, from Star Wars, to Marvel, to Jurassic Park, to Ghostbusters, to Cobra Kai and countless other TV and movie franchises. But few have managed to match the kind of depth of exploration laid out when Gundam did it four decades ago this past weekend with the launch of Zeta Gundam. Zeta Gundam launched in a very different context than that of its predecessor six years prior. The first Gundam found itself coming to the end of its run with a truncated episode count, cut short by waning ratings—only to find that a combination of its dedicated audience, model kit sales, and a miraculous successful theatrical run as a series of compilation movies transformed its fate from doomed experiment to the birth of new anime genre, and an enduring franchise in its own right. With a sophomore series, there ... Read full article.