In a double whammy of announcements on Tuesday, Sony Pictures has snapped up rights to the sci-fi anime and set a 2017 release date for its third Smurfs film.

300 creators Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton will produce for the studio, which snapped up rights once they became available.

The Robotech property had initially been set up at Warner Bros for Tobey Maguire and Akiva Goldsman to produce.

Doug Belgrad, Michael De Luca and Matthew Milam will oversee the potential franchise for Sony.

Robotech reached peak popularity as a 1980s TV show. Frank Agrama of Harmony Gold, the original intellectual property rights holder, will serve as executive producer with Michael Gordon and Jehan Agrama.

Meanwhile Untitled Animated Smurfs will open on March 31 2017. Kelly Asbury will direct and Jordan Kerner produces. The final title and new voice cast are expected to be announced in the coming months.