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September 7, 2008.  That's the day we posted a short teaser clip from Imagi's animated Gatchaman movie.  Since that time, images have been released, a longer teaser clip was shown at Anime Expo 2009, and then the bad news hit: Imagi Studios L.A. branch was getting shut down and no one knew if the Gatchaman movie would ever get released.

When we reported Imagi was getting shut down, I figured everything Gatchaman related was going to get buried with it.  But that doesn't seem to be the case, as an early teaser trailer has hit the net and you can check it out after the jump.  Just know this isn't a new trailer, as Twitch reports it fits the description of something shown at the HK Filmart back in 2007

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And if the teaser trailer isn't enough...you can see some more pre-production concept art and storyboards by going here and here.  I know the images are from Imagi's Los Angeles office, as I did an editing room visit at the studio and remember seeing the Gatchaman artwork on the walls.

If you're not familiar with Gatchaman, here's what wikipedia has:

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is a 5-member superhero team that is composed of the main characters in several Japanese anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally produced in Japan by Tatsunoko Productions and later adapted into several English-language versions. It is also known by the abbreviated name Gatchaman. The original series, produced in 1972, was eponymously named Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman and is most well-known to the English-speaking world as the adaptation titled Battle of the Planets (or unofficially as G-Force, not to be confused with the subsequent 1980's English adaptation of Gatchaman, known as G-Force: Guardians of Space). Tatsunoko also uses the official translation Science Commando Gatchaman, as shown in numerous related products and media.

Finally, Imagi's Hong Kong website still is active and lists Gatchman coming in 2011.  Who knows if that's the case.  If the movie is dead, this might be the last footage you ever see....

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