New Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans film to be released this year
Bandai Namco Filmworks has officially announced the release of a new Gundam theatrical film.
The announcement came during a Gundam panel at San Diego Comic-Con International 2025.
The new film is titled “Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans – Urðr Hunt: Path of the Little Challenger,” and is set to premiere in Japanese theaters later this year.
“Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans” (IBO), which originally aired from 2015 to 2017, is a distinctive entry in the long-running “Gundam” franchise.
It is set in Post Disaster (P.D.) 323, over 300 years after a devastating conflict known as the Calamity War.
The series explores themes of war, child soldiers, poverty, and political corruption through the eyes of the young mercenary group Tekkadan, who operate on a terraformed Mars.
Its gritty realism and focus on character-driven drama set it apart from other Gundam series, garnering a strong following.
“Urðr Hunt” was initially announced in 2019 as a new project within the IBO universe and subsequently launched in 2022 as part of the “Iron-Blooded Orphans G” mobile app.
This application blended anime sequences with interactive turn-based gameplay, allowing players to experience a narrative that ran parallel to the events of the original television series.
The story of “Urðr Hunt” centers on Wistario Apham, a young boy from a colony floating above Venus, who dreams of improving his birthplace’s harsh conditions.
He encounters a mysterious girl who guides him on the “Urðr Hunt,” leading him to pilot the Gundam Hajiroboshi.
While the mobile app’s service ended in early 2024, the announcement of an anime adaptation came in late 2024.
It has now been revealed that the anime adaptation will be a new film created using a mix of existing animation from the game and newly created animation.
While it will mostly use re-edited animation from the games, brand new animation will be created to enhance the cinematic experience and provide additional context to, or expand on, existing scenes.
The film will be directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai, who also helmed the original “Iron-Blooded Orphans” television series.
Nagai is a highly regarded director known for his ability to craft compelling narratives and impactful character moments, with other notable works including “Toradora!” and “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.”
His return to refine the “Urðr Hunt” mobile game into a streamlined and cohesive cinematic experience is expected to be a significant draw for fans, ensuring continuity of vision and quality for the adaptation.
The decision to release “Urðr Hunt” as a theatrical compilation follows a trend in the anime industry of re-packaging mobile game or web-exclusive animated content for broader cinematic distribution, often with added scenes and refined pacing.
This allows a wider audience to experience the story without needing to engage with the original app, and provides a polished, definitive version for existing fans.
“Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans – Urðr Hunt: Path of the Little Challenger” is currently expected to premiere in Japanese cinemas on October 31st, 2025.
For North American audiences, Bandai Namco Filmworks has confirmed that a release is being considered.
Further details regarding the North American premiere, including specific dates and distribution platforms, are expected to be announced in the coming months.
No confirmation regarding a release outside of Japan and North America has been provided, but any further international releases are expected to be broadly in line with the North American release.
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