Narrative. The film was later formally announced during the Gundam 40th Anniversary press conference in November of the same year. The first film was originally scheduled to released on July 23, 2020, but it was delayed to May 7, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was delayed again to May 21, 2021. A third delay was announced on May 17, with a new date not set at the time. The film was finally released on June 11, 2021 in theaters in Japan and China. Netflix obtained streaming rights for the first film, which was released on July 1, 2021 in select territories. A second film in the series was teased after the first film's release. The films are directed by Shūkō Murase, with Yasuyuki Mutou writing scripts. [Alexandros] performs the film's main theme . Hiroyuki Sawano composed the music for all three films. Yoshiyuki Tomino stated on interview that "30 years after I wrote those novels, they are finally being adapted into film. As the author, I am so happy". He also noted that "The real world hasn't progressed, and may even have regressed. Because of all the Gundam fans who gave this story the chance to reemerge, its themes can pierce through society today." Video games Hathaway's Flash first appeared in the SD Gundam G Generation series of games by Bandai starting with SD Gundam G Generation F. The series later made its Super Robot Wars debut in Super Robot Wars V in 2017. Merchandise The titular character mecha (Ξ Gundam) was released as part of Bandai's Gundam Fix Figuration line of toys starting in 2005. The title later got its own Gunpla debut, with the BB Seishi No.386 Ξ Gundam in December 2013, the High Grade Universal Century Gustav Karl in February 2019, which were released under the Gundam Unicorn line, the High Grade Universal Century Penelope, released in November 2019, the High Grade Universal Century Messer Type F01, released in July 2020 and the High Grade Universal Century Ξ Gundam, released in April 2021. Reception Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network gave the first film a B, citing the film's "beautiful but hampered by some of its creative choices" and criticizing its overall plot saying that "with a bit more finesse in execution, it could have been a far better adaptation than what it has turned out to be." In its first theatrical release, the