Back in 2006 we found out a studio named Imagi was working on a CG Gatchaman movie. Recently news surfaced on the unlikelihood of it ever seeing the light of day....oh well.

Gatchaman was in the hands of Hong Kong based animation studio Imagi. They had aquired the rights from Tatsunko Production to produce a CG animated film based on the cult classic 70's anime series, known in the US as Battle of the Planets and a few other re-dubs over the years. Well it seems their LA studio is pretty much a gonner (30 employees let go in January), and the writer/director team has changed several times since the original 2006 trailer. The Hong Kong studio still plans to push for a 2011 release in 3D, but is currently looking for roughly $30 million to continue production. Imagi's parent company laid off another 300 employees in February 2010 but called them "temporary" as it seeks new investors.

After reading through all the articles out there it seems the less-than-spectacular Astroboy release was the main cause of their financial situation and is even mentioned in their Interim Report for 2009/2010:

"The recoverable amount of Astro Boy has been determined using a value in use calculation based on the box office and other cash flows expected to be generated from Astro Boy and the directors have concluded that an impairment loss of approximately HK$396 million is required against Astro Boy, which was officially launched in October 2009. Accordingly, an impairment loss of approximately HK$396 million was recognised in the condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income."