Sam Nivola and Nico Parker are set to lead "Grandgear," Takashi Yamazaki's first English-language film. Paul Giamatti is in talks to join. Sony is behind the film, Bad Robot is producing, and production is expected to start in 2027.
Sam Nivola and Nico Parker are set to lead "Grandgear," an original sci-fi giant mech film written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. The film is Yamazaki's first English-language project. Paul Giamatti is in negotiations to join the cast, and he was reportedly the filmmakers' top choice for his role. Nico Parker, Sam Nivola and Paul Giamatti will star in the film, according to Deadline.
How the leads were chosen
Yamazaki reportedly put actors through extensive chemistry tests before choosing Nivola and Parker. A round of those tests led to the pair landing the two most prominent parts in the film.
The cast
Nivola has appeared in The White Lotus and Noah Baumbach's White Noise, as well as the film Maestro. He also appeared in Hulu's Phony opposite Connie Britton. Parker won the Breakthrough Performance Award at Sundance for starring in Searchlight's Suncoast. She was nominated for a BAFTA for Supporting Actress for HBO's The Last of Us and starred as the female lead in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon.
Production and release
Sony Pictures is behind the film, and J.J. Abrams is producing for Bad Robot together with Glen Zipper. It is Yamazaki's first major studio picture, and it already has Abrams attached. Production is expected to begin in 2027, and Sony has the film on its release calendar for January 14, 2028. Yamazaki wrote the original screenplay and will direct it, and story details are being kept secret. At CinemaCon earlier this year, Sony screened a teaser showing two enormous mechs fighting each other.
Yamazaki's recent work
Yamazaki wrote, directed and supervised the visual effects on Godzilla Minus One. The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, making him the first director since Stanley Kubrick to win that Oscar. His follow-up, Godzilla Minus Zero, recently premiered at the New York Film Festival. It is scheduled to reach US IMAX screens on November 3 before a wide release on November 6, and it features King Ghidorah.
