The Recruit‘s Noah Centineo has been recruited to pilot a mobile suit. The rising star is currently circling a role in Legendary‘s new live-action adaptation of the long-running Gundam franchise. If he signs on, he’ll join the already-cast Sydney Sweeney in the film, which will adapt the sprawling mecha-military anime for the big screen.

According to reports, the film is set to begin production early next year. There’s been no indication of what characters Centineo and Sweeney would play, or what incarnation of the long-running franchise will be adapted. Centineo is certainly establishing himself as a rising action star: after starring in The Recruit and Warfare, he’s recently wrapped production on Legendary‘s new adaptation of the Street Fighter series of video games: he’ll play martial artist Ken Masters. He’s also set to play one of the most iconic action roles of all time: he’ll take on the lead role in John Rambo, a prequel detailing the character’s early days as a Green Beret in the Vietnam War before First Blood.

What Is ‘Gundam’?

The Gundam franchise sprung from the anime series Mobile Suit Gundam, which was created by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979. A sprawling futuristic epic about a war in space, the series centers the conflict around the rivalry between Amuro Rey, a teenage boy who fights for the Earth Federation with the prototype RX-78 Gundam mecha suit, and his arch-rival, Char Aznable, who fights for the vaguely fascistic Principality of Zeon, a confederation of off-world colonies. Although Mobile Suit Gundam was not a ratings success, Bandai’s Gundam model kits were a huge hit. The series soon returned to the airwaves, and has been there, in one form or another, ever since. There have been numerous sequels, reboots, and alternate universes to the original series over the intervening decades. The most recent incarnation of the franchise was Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, a twelve-episode series that examines a “what if” scenario in which Char stole the RX-78 Gundam and used it to fight for Zeon. The franchise has rarely ventured into the realm of live-action, save for the poorly received Canadian-made movie G-Saviour in 1999.

Gundam will be written, directed, and produced by Jim Mickle (Sweet Tooth). The film was previously in the works at Netflix with Kong: Skull Island‘s Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached to direct, but neither are currently involved with the film.

Legendary‘s life-action Gundam movie is expected to begin production early next year.

via Collider