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Gundam Seed FREEDOM Film Gets Special Editions With Over 500 Cuts Updated

The official website for the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed projects announced on Monday that special editions of the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM film will play in theaters in two 14-day limited engagements. The special editions feature over 500 cuts of footage updated.

One special edition of the film, with an epilogue cut (or cuts) added, will play from September 20 to October 3. Another special edition, with a different epilogue cut (or cuts) added, will run from November 1 to November 14. During the first run, attendees will receive an original mini clear file folder featuring an animation sketch used for an updated cut.

Director Mitsuo Fukuda explained that due to time, the staff members could not complete every section to their satisfaction in the version that opened in theaters on January 26. With the special editions, they updated those cuts and refined parts that felt off after screenings. Fukuda added, "I think we can call this the complete edition of Seed FREEDOM."

Also on September 20, cast members and Fukuda will appear at a screening at Tokyo's Shinjuku Piccadilly theater.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM opened in Japan on January 26. The film debuted at #1 in the Japanese box office. It selling 634,182 tickets for 1,065,983,130 yen (about US$7.20 million) in its first three days, marking the Gundam franchise's highest three-day opening in box office earnings. The film is the highest-earning Gundam film in Japan ever.

Bandai Namco Filmworks and Fathom Events screened the film in the United States and Canada on May 7-8, screening with subtitles on May 7, and with an English dub on May 8.

Netflix is listing film with a September 1 debut on the service in the United States.

Fukuda directed the film at Bandai Namco Filmworks. Fukuda also co-wrote the script along with his late wife Chiaki Morosawa and Liu Goto. Hisashi Hirai (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) designed the characters.

Sources: Comic Natalie