Story, Not Visual FX, Should Be Key Element for ROBOTECH Movie

Sony continues to reel in top talent for it's adaption of 1985's cult anime, ROBOTECH. Originally conceptualized back in 2007, the project continues to defy all odds as the studio is committed to bringing protoculture to life.

Jason Fuchs, who co-wrote WONDER WOMAN along with Zack Snyder and Allan Heinberg, is being brought in to write the screenplay for ROBOTECH. This is a huge move for the studio, as getting the story right can separate ROBOTECh from other, recent movies that feature fighting robots on a grand scale.

Fuchs is a sought after writer whose first big movie was Ice Age: Continental Drift. And while his script for PAN was notoriously hit the 'black list', his work on WONDER WOMAN re-established him as a commodity. Along with Snyder and Heinberg, Fuchs was able to take part in capturing the essence of Wonder Woman and what made her story so important to tell.

It mirrored current, real themes and the movie became a rallying cry for women everywhere.

This is where Fuchs involvement with ROBOTECH becomes imperative. The core story of Robotech is deeper than that of Transformers, where robots at war with each other bring their war to Earth. On the surface it looks like Robots vs Aliens sci-fi, apocalypse porn. But when you dig deeper at the roots of Carl Macek's vision, it's about life, accepting other cultures, and most importantly, it's about the power of love.

Fighter jets that convert to robots, in order to combat alien invaders, is the sub-plot that gets all the attention for the flare it brings to the screen. Brought to the Western world, courtesy of Harmony Gold, the epic scale of the battles that take place for a kids cartoon was unheard of at the time. But there's so much more to it than that, and Sony Pictures would be wise to focus on telling the story of the crew members aboard the SDF-1.

It almost makes me concerned that a 2-hour movie won't be able to do it justice. However, if done right, a trilogy may be in order.

Jason Fuchs has proven that he can handle the task of balancing action with story and character development. The emotional ties that Rick Hunter has with his brother Roy, his crush Minmay, and his commanding officer Lisa Hayes, should not be sacrficed for special effects.

It's being said that Sony considers ROBOTECH a top priority, evidenced by the names being brought in to work on it. For a movie once thought to be forgotten about, Sony is staying committed to it. To general audiences, ROBOTECH the movie will be the first time they meet these characters and see their story. In order to be successful, it can't be relegated to wise cracking pilots who blow up aliens.

It has the potential to be TOP GUN meets INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Combining Fuchs with Director Andres Muschietti (IT), should give fans hope that a live action ROBOTECH movie will be taken seriously and treated with respect. Between Transformers spin-offs and Pacific Rim sequels, general audiences may have giant robot fatigue by the time ROBOTECH is released. Sony Pictures has to deliver something more than that.

Which is why ROBOTECH's story has the potential to stand out.