From Spider-Man to Ghostbusters, it's pretty clear that Sony Pictures doesn't think that it's in the movie business as much as it's in the expanded universe business — and next up is Robotech. Sony has announced that the studio has sewn up the rights for the classic anime series, and is already developing the first film in what it expects to be a massive live-action franchise. Michael Gordon (300, G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra) is writing the script for the movie.

"Robotech is unique in that it has always been a marriage of spectacle with human characters that seem drawn from life," Columbia Pictures production head Michael De Luca said in a statement. "With a history that offers an epic love triangle, a renegade hero, and a world on the brink of extinction, Robotech offers a wide scope and a rich and impressive universe where the story possibilities are endless."

While beloved by many, the Robotech that aired in the US during the 1980s wasn't a faithful adaptation of any single piece of Japanese source material. It was actually a recut and restructured version of multiple Japanese anime series, that featured its own individual storylines. There have been multiple attempts to bring the franchise to movie theaters over the years, though none came to fruition. With the incredible success that other 1980s animated shows have enjoyed — including the Transformers series and the G.I. Joe films — it was just a matter of time before Robotech finally came together.