Star Blazers

Benderspink and producer Josh C. Kline are teaming to adapt the classic Japanese anime Star Blazers into a live-action feature, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Known for its epic imagery and themes of brave sacrifice and respect for heroes lost in the line of duty, Star Blazers is the U.S. name for 1970s Japanese anime TV series Space Battleship Yamato. It comprised three television series, five animated features and a host of merchandise. Star Blazers, distributed in the U.S. by Voyager Entertainment, aired stateside in the early 1980s.

The story is set in the 22nd century after an alien attack on Earth has forced survivors to live in underground cities. After a message arrives from a distant planet promising a cure for the proliferating surface radiation, Earth's last vestige of hope rests on the crew of a powerful yet untested spaceship, which must reach the purported new ally and return home before mankind ceases to exist.