Galaxy Express 999: Toei Animation Confirms New Theatrical Anime, Rintaro Returns – GamesReviews.com
Galaxy Express 999: Toei Animation Confirms New Theatrical Anime, Rintaro Returns
Author:News DeskCategory:News, Date: 3rd August, 2026
Toei Animation has confirmed a brand-new theatrical anime film based on Leiji Matsumoto’s Galaxy Express 999, marking the space-opera saga’s first original cinema outing since 1998. The studio announced the project on July 25, 2026, alongside Matsumoto’s production company Leijisha, revealing that veteran director Rintaro will handle the story concept while Toei Animation itself takes on animation production.
Toei Animation announced on Saturday it is producing a new anime film based on Leiji Matsumoto’s Galaxy Express 999 franchise. Although the franchise has produced numerous titles for special event screenings, this will be its first new theatrical anime since Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy was released in 1998, marking a return to theaters after 28 years. No release window, cast or full synopsis has been attached to the announcement yet.
Rintaro Returns, But Not in the Director’s Chair
Rintaro, whose notable works include the 1979 film Galaxy Express 999 and the 2001 film Metropolis, is providing the original story concept for the new project. Rintaro directed both the original 1979 theatrical film and its 1981 sequel, Adieu Galaxy Express 999, making his return a meaningful link to the franchise’s most celebrated era even though he is not credited as director this time around.
Animation production will be handled by Toei Animation, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The timing carries extra weight for the studio: it has previously described the 1979 Galaxy Express 999 film as its first independently produced feature-length animated movie, a milestone that makes the new production feel especially symbolic during the anniversary year.
Leijisha and Makiko Matsumoto’s Statement
The announcement also involves Leijisha, the company founded by the late Leiji Matsumoto to oversee his creative legacy. Makiko Matsumoto, his eldest daughter and Leijisha’s representative director, issued a statement on the project, opening with the line, “We apologize for the long wait.”
Beyond the apology for the decades-long gap, Makiko Matsumoto framed the film as fulfilling a long-held ambition of her father’s. Makiko Matsumoto, Leiji Matsumoto’s daughter and Leijisha’s president, described the film as the realization of a project her father had long hoped to see developed. She also cast the new movie as a continuation of the journey the creator shared with generations of readers and viewers.
From 1977 Manga to a 50th-Anniversary Push
Galaxy Express 999 began in 1977 as a manga, serialized in Shonengahosha’s Weekly Shonen King, by the late Leiji Matsumoto, with the story seeing the young Tetsuro Hoshino joining the mysterious Maetel on a journey to the planet Andromeda, where Tetsuro can receive a mechanical body to avenge his mother. Aside from the 1979 movie, there was a TV anime that ran from 1978 to 1981 and another anime film titled Sayonara Galaxy Express 999: Andromeda Shuchakueki.
The new film lands as part of a wider push to introduce Matsumoto’s universe to a new generation ahead of the manga’s approaching 50th anniversary. A Galaxy Express 999 anime music video, “Orbital Resonance,” was released last December as the second project from the GREEN OCEAN creators label, co-founded by Toei Animation, entertainment company DeNA, and Tokyo University of the Arts’ Department of Animation’s Planning and Development Office to provide training and support for young creators.
A Leiji Matsumoto Exhibition Opens in September
To mark the new film’s production, an exhibition tracing Matsumoto’s career will open at the Kadokawa Culture Museum in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. To commemorate the production of the new film, an exhibition tracing Matsumoto’s creative career will open at Kadokawa Culture Museum in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, on September 19, displaying more than 300 original artworks, including pieces from his early career and celebrated works such as Galaxy Express 999, Space Battleship Yamato, and Captain Harlock. Rare archival materials and personal belongings from the artist will also be on show alongside the exhibits.
Where Australian and NZ Fans Can Watch the Original Today
For anime fans in Australia and New Zealand curious to revisit thexpress 999 series and 1979 film remain accessible through Crunchyroll, which operates across the region. Toei Animation Co., Ltd. continues its partnership with the online media distribution giant Crunchyroll to provide streaming, subscription and download-to-own options for Galaxy Express 999 and Captain Harlock
With no director, cast, synopsis or release date yet confirmed for the new theatrical film, Toei Animation and Leijisha have signalled that further details will follow as the 50th-anniversary celebrations continue through the rest of 2026. For now, the confirmation alone is enough to send one of anime’s most influential space operas back onto cinema release slates for the first time in almost three decades.
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