T5W#413-Top 5 Theories about Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom

Originally announced following the conclusion of SEED Destiny, a Gundam SEED movie has been in various stages of development hell for over two decades.  There have been plenty of stalls, including the sad and unfortunate passing of original writer Chiaki Morosawa in 2016 that seemed to kill the project for good.  However, on January 26, 2024, the long wait is over as it was announced a few weeks back that Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom is happening.  The announcement trailer didn’t show much though it at least confirmed the return of central SEED characters Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne.  But what story comes next after two massive wars, a ton of trauma, and having to deal with Shinn Asuka pretending to be a hero for one of those…you know what, not here to rant about him…maybe we’ll see but not yet.  As we’re in the midst of a Gundam Double Feature for my Extended Summer Series Review, let’s talk about what could maybe happen in the SEED Movie as I lay out my Top 5 Theories about Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom.

 
#5-The Cast

The Cosmic Era boasts one of the largest casts of any Gundam multiverse with new additions being made with each new series.  Obviously, series stars Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne will be back but who else will be joining them in the new feature?  It’s a safe bet since he’s co-lead alongside his best friend Kira that Athrun Zala will return, along with his love interest and Kira’s Sister, Cagalli Yula Atha.  Everyone else is kind of a coin toss.  Maybe former ZAFT Gundam pilots Yzak Juele and Dearka Elmsman will have a cameo?  What about beautiful Archangel Captain Murrue Ramius?  Unfortunately, because he was the “protagonist” of Seed Destiny, that likely means Shinn Asuka will also make an appearance…movie gets a 10/10 if he’s taken out in the opening act.
 

#4-A New Freedom?

Freedom is a pretty noticeable title for a Seed Movie because of its significance when it comes to Gundams in the Cosmic Era.  The original Freedom Gundam was a ZAFT prototype Kira stole with the help of Lacus and he held onto it from the back half of SEED to the end of SEED Destiny’s third act, when it was destroyed in a duel with Shinn Asuka.  Following this, Kira received the Strike Freedom a few episodes later.  I cant imagine Kira hasn’t totally ditched this suit but with a new movie comes new Gundams.  Kira might be due for another upgrade, if he hasn’t done so already in the two years set between SEED Destiny and SEED Freedom.  What would you even call this one?  I’ve always thought Strike Freedom was kind of a lazy name (just merging the names of both of Kira’s Gundams from SEED).  Freedom III?  Infinite Freedom?  Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be a beam spamming powerhouse like its predecessors.

 
#3-Cosmic Era 75

The SEED Freedom movie announcement confirmed that the story would pick up in C.E. 75, two years after the end of SEED Destiny.  So…what might’ve changed in those two years?  When we last left things, peace was attained once again.  Lacus was elected Chairwoman of the PLANT Supreme Council while Kira and Athrun made peace with Shinn and invited him to join their efforts to keep the peace.  What’s become of everyone during those two years?  Has Murrue married her not dead boyfriend Mu La Flaga yet?  Are Yzak and Dearka still in the ZAFT military?  Is the Earth Alliance not acting a bit more fairly since a lot of its leadership was influenced by the racist Blue Cosmos group?  Not saying we need an entire third of the movie dedicated to these questions and more but it’s been twenty years.  Let’s take a second and see what’s become of the Cosmic Era and hope its gotten better than last time.

 
#2-Villains

Whatever peace was attained at the end of SEED Destiny, something is bound to mess it up, if it hasn’t already.  While ZAFT might be in a better position following the death of the insane Chairman Gilbert Durandal, the Earth Alliance is more questionable.  Many of their ruling members have been heavily prejudiced against Coordinators so it wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to stir up trouble again.  With the Blue Cosmos group wiped out by Shinn, were I to pick a possible antagonistic group, lest there’s an unknown faction yet to be introduced, I’d go with Phantom Pain.  Phantom Pain was an Earth Alliance Black Ops Unit that actually used their own Coordinators amongst other shadowy agents.  They kind of faded out of SEED Destiny after a bit but what if a newly resurrected faction jumped in for some nefarious purpose?
 

#1-Celebrating SEED and the Franchise as a Whole

When Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom drops in January 2024, it’ll be a landmark year the movie is landing in.  2024 will make the 22^nd Anniversary of Gundam SEED and the 20^th Anniversary of SEED Destiny.  More importantly, 2024 will mark the 45^th Anniversary of the entire Mobile Suit Gundam franchise.  SEED Freedom will no doubt be staying focused on its own in universe tale but considering its coming out in a milestone year, the anticipation and expectations have to be immense.  I’m not sure what else is planned for Gundam’s 45^th Birthday but a major project like a long awaited Gundam SEED Movie is plenty high profile and a much, much better offering than the lackluster showing Sunrise did for the franchise’s 40^th Birthday in 2019 (the only new project was Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise.  Everything else was Compilation Films and TV Adaptations of OVAs).  Could this be the first of a few more major Gundam projects coming in 2024?  I sure would love more original works.