Animal Logic Entertainment gives Astro Boy a 21st Century makeover in new live action film

A SYDNEY-based animation and visual effects studio is set to recharge Astro Boy’s rocket thrusters in a live-action big screen remake.

Astroboy. TV show. Astro boy.

A SYDNEY animation and visual effects studio is to recharge Astro Boy’s rocket thrusters in a live-action big screen remake.

Known in Japan as The Mighty Atom, the iconic character first appeared in a manga comic book series from 1951-1968 written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka, who is considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney.

The story of a robot boy created by a scientist as a replacement for his dead son was then translated into several anime series that became popular around the world in the 1970s and 1980s.

Hollywood has tried several times to bring the character to the big screen, succeeding only with an animated 2009 feature in which Freddie Highmore voiced the iconic character.

Animal Logic Entertainment will produce the film in partnership with Japan’s Tezuka Productions.

“We’ve seen him as a manga, an anime and an animated movie but we’ve never seen him as a live-action movie or him as a superhero,” said Animal Logic’s Zareh Nalbanian, who will produce the film.

“We actually see him in the same league as an Iron Man,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Originally known for their groundbreaking special effects work, Nalbanian and his Animal Logic team have been moving increasingly into production and development, beginning with a partnership with George Miller on Happy Feet.

Last year’s hit The Lego Movie was also produced at their Fox Studios headquarters. The location for Astro Boy has yet to be confirmed. No casting has been announced.

Originally published as Animal Logic Entertainment gives Astro Boy a 21st Century makeover in new live action film