Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999 Gets New Film Project
The Galaxy Express 999 manga series will be getting a new theatrical anime project, as announced earlier today. Toei Animation will be in charge of the animation production, with Rintaro on the story concept.
The Galaxy Express 999 franchise was created by late Leiji Matsumoto. Rintaro has previously worked on the series, directing the 1979 Galaxy Express 999 film and its sequel, Adieu Galaxy Express 999, in 1981. Toei Animation worked on these adaptations.
The new Galaxy Express 999 anime project will also involve Matsumoto's production company Leijisha. Makiko Matsumoto, his eldest daughter and representative director of Leijisha, commented on the announcement:
We apologize for the long wait. Nearly half a century has passed since the theatrical release of "Galaxy Express 999," and Toei Animation has given us the opportunity to announce a new work, a long-cherished dream of Matsumoto's. Creating animated films has been Matsumoto's dream since childhood and his greatest goal in life. That unwavering passion will continue forever, as he races along the silver rails that traverse the vast galaxy. Matsumoto would surely be delighted by this miracle of being able to continue this journey with all of you. We hope you will look forward to its release.
Initially published from 1977 to 1981, the Galaxy Express 999 manga has spawned multiple films, TV anime adaptations, and video games. It is one of Leiji Matsumoto's best-known works, in addition to The Space Battleship Yamato and Space Pirate Captain Harlock.
The plot is set in the future, where mechanical civilization on Earth has advanced to an astonishing degree. The futuristic society is riddled with inequality, as the rich are able to become cyborgs and live forever, while the poor are persecuted. Hoshino Tetsuro, an orphan, boards the Galaxy Express 999, a space train that only comes to Earth once a year in search of a place that will give him a cyborg body for free.
Source: Official Website
© Leiji Matsumoto / Leijisha
