Hideaki Anno has loved Uchu Senkan Yamato since the second year of junior high (8th grade). Fifty-two years after the anime first aired, the Evangelion director is officially making a Yamato film: Uchu Senkan Yamato √2199, co-directed with Yutaka Izubuchi, the first joint project of Production I.G and Studio Khara.
Quick facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Uchu Senkan Yamato √2199 (宇宙戦艦ヤマト√2199, read as “Root 2199”) |
| Format | Anime feature film |
| Directors | Hideaki Anno, Yutaka Izubuchi |
| Production | Production I.G and Studio Khara |
| Announced | October 6, 2026, exactly 52 years after the original anime first aired |
| Release date | Not announced |
What has been announced
The film’s official site opened on October 6, 2026, picking the exact day Uchu Senkan Yamato first aired on television in 1974. The film is presented as a full-length anime feature. Hideaki Anno handles the concept, executive production and co-direction, Yutaka Izubuchi co-directs, and the two also handle the design. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, founder of Production I.G, shares the concept credit.
Production is handled jointly by Production I.G and Studio Khara, Anno’s own studio, and it is the first time the two companies have worked on a project together. There is no release date, voice cast, trailer or plot detail yet.
What did Anno say?
On the official site, Anno wrote of wanting to keep making Yamato works, not only to realize a childhood dream but also to send a prayer and a wish to the next generation and to their own, and said the film is being made with that in mind. Anno describes being a “rabid Yamato fan since the second year of junior high”, which is 8th grade.
The project’s two-year journey
The project began on October 6, 2024, at the 50th anniversary screening of Yamato in Tokyo. At the time, Khara announced it had acquired the right to produce a new anime from Voyager Holdings and a license to use the copyrights from Tohokushinsha, with a goal of starting production in 2025. Khara said the project would follow “a different journey” from the remake series that began with Yamato 2199.
Yutaka Izubuchi is the director of Yamato 2199 (2012 to 2014), the Yamato remake series, and Anno took part in that project. The news site Mantan Web reports the two once told each other they would make Yamato “for fun in old age”. In 2024, Anno said that without encountering Yamato 50 years ago, today’s Anno would not exist.
What is Uchu Senkan Yamato?
Uchu Senkan Yamato (Space Battleship Yamato) is a classic Japanese sci-fi anime that first aired on October 6, 1974 with 26 episodes, created by Yoshinobu Nishizaki. It follows the battleship Yamato as it travels through space to save a devastated Earth. According to Anime News Network, the 1977 film grossed 2.1 billion yen. Outside Japan, the anime was released as Star Blazers. The modern remake line includes 2199, 2202, 2205 and REBEL3199.
OtaHub’s take
For Evangelion fans this is big news: after the “Shin” films (Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, Shin Kamen Rider), Anno returns to anime with the very work that shaped Anno. Teaming up with Production I.G, and with Izubuchi, who knows Yamato better than anyone, shows this is a seriously prepared project. Just, as with every Anno project, do not expect an early release date.
FAQ
What is Uchu Senkan Yamato √2199?
A new anime feature film about the space battleship Yamato, co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Yutaka Izubuchi and produced jointly by Production I.G and Studio Khara. The √ in the title is read as “Root”.
When is Hideaki Anno’s Yamato film coming out?
There is no date yet. The official site says the release timing will be announced once decided.
Is the film a remake of Yamato 2199?
Not exactly. When Khara announced the rights to make the film in 2024, the studio said the project would follow “a different journey” from the remake series that began with Yamato 2199 in 2012.
What is Uchu Senkan Yamato?
A classic Japanese sci-fi anime that first aired on October 6, 1974 with 26 episodes, about the battleship Yamato traveling through space to save Earth. The English version was released as Star Blazers.
Sources: official Uchu Senkan Yamato √2199 site, Studio Khara, Production I.G, Anime News Network, eiga.com, Oricon, Animate Times, Mantan Web, Famitsu.