‘Lightyear’ is released in theaters next year.
What with the release of the new Lightyear trailer and everyone understandably getting very excited, it seems that there are some Gundam references tucked away in there as well.
The most notable of these is the space fighter that Buzz pilots at the start of the trailer (shown below).
Fans online have pointed out that this looks remarkably similar to the FF-S3 Saberfish fighter first introduced in the twelfth episode of Zeta Gundam back in 1985 and designed by Kunio Okawara (shown below).
Personally, I can totally see the resemblance but that’s not all the trailer has to offer either. We also have what looks like a HLV in the background in the start of the trailer, not to mention what looks like some kind of linear catapult, which is a regular Gundam fixture.
The FF-S3 Saberfish originally from ‘Zeta Gundam’.
Fans have even wondered whether the rows of mono-eyed mecha towards the end of the trailer are another Gundam reference. Although I am not so sure on this one.
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Obviously, Pixar is staffed by a great many talented people, who are also clearly into anime and, by extension, Gundam as well.
Considering the premise of Lightyear is all about travelling to infinity and beyond, referencing classic Gundam designs is totally understandable.
As an aside, this new Lightyear trailer blew me away. Having watched the Toy Story series since its inception back in the 90s, the fact we are actually getting a standalone movie about Buzz Lightyear’s real world character origins is just amazing. It also looks entirely gorgeous and I loved the use Starman by David Bowie as well.
In any case, I will be happily checking out Lightyear once it hits theaters in 2022 and will keep an eye out to see if any other Gundam references pop up..
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