Space Battleship Yamato √2199 Film Announced with Anno and Dezakimas On Board

The 52nd anniversary of Space Battleship Yamato has served to confirm what many fans already suspected: there will be a new film in the franchise. The production is titled Space Battleship Yamato √2199 (Uchū Senkan Yamato Route 2199) and arrives with Hideaki Anno as general producer and director, joined by Yutaka Izubuchi —credited this time as Dezakimas— as co-director. The announcement was made on October 6, 2026, the date on which Leiji Matsumoto's classic turns exactly 52 years old.

The news comes with the first promotional poster, which shows the Yamato about to leave a desolate Earth surface. No enemy ships in sight, no characters: just the space battleship with its engines ignited, ready for liftoff. It's an image that works as a statement of intent and connects directly with the saga's original iconography.

Promotional poster for Space Battleship Yamato √2199: the battleship prepares to take off from a desolate Earth.collabo-cafe.com

A duo with pedigree in science fiction

The involvement of Anno and Izubuchi places the project at a particularly sensitive point for genre fans. The Evangelion director has never hidden his devotion to Yamato: the original 1974 series was one of the works that marked his adolescence and his conception of anime as a medium for telling adult science fiction stories. Izubuchi, for his part, was responsible for mecha design and direction on Space Battleship Yamato 2199, the TV remake broadcast between 2012 and 2013 that updated the original story with an outstanding production level.

Now the two meet again in a new iteration of the franchise, this time with the theatrical feature film format as its core. According to the statement issued by the production, the release date will be announced at a later time: for now there is no concrete month or year, a detail worth keeping in mind with a project of this scale.

"Production of the animated film Space Battleship Yamato √2199 (Route 2199) has been confirmed," reads the official announcement, which describes it as an animated feature film.

Production I.G and Studio Color join forces for the first time

Another relevant detail in the announcement is the alliance between Production I.G and Studio Color. It is the first time both studios collaborate on a co-production, according to the official note. Production I.G is an old acquaintance of the franchise: it was already behind Yamato 2199 and its theatrical sequels. Studio Color, founded by Anno himself, has experience producing high-budget animated feature films, though this is its first foray into the Yamato universe.

The combination is no accident. Anno has spent years pushing Studio Color as a studio capable of tackling traditional animation projects with very high technical standards, while Production I.G brings prior knowledge of the franchise and a consolidated track record in science fiction anime. The result should be visible on screen, although for now we only have the poster to gauge the visual direction.

A remake that already had its own trajectory

To put the news in context, it's worth remembering that Yamato 2199 doesn't come out of nowhere. It is the modern revision of the 1974 series, in which the crew of the Yamato battleship travels to Iscandar in search of a device capable of saving an Earth devastated by radiation. Izubuchi's remake updated designs, deepened the characters, and expanded the mythology with later films such as Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark (2014) and the series Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love (2017-2019).

The new film, with the square root symbol in the title, introduces a variation that is still not explained in the statement. It's not even clear whether it works as a sequel to what has already been told, as a new timeline, or as a reinterpretation. What is clear is that the creative team is top-tier and that the project is being announced as a feature-length film for theaters.

On October 9, the November issue of Monthly Newtype magazine will publish an interview with Anno and Izubuchi. It will be the first opportunity to learn details about the approach of this new version, its relationship with the previous ones, and perhaps a hint about the cast or technical staff. For now, we'll have to make do with the poster and the certainty that the Yamato will take off once again.

Production is underway, but the wait may be long. If you grew up with the original series or were hooked by the 2012 remake, leave in the comments what you expect from this new film with Anno at the helm.