Lead: Cosmoship Yamato √2199, a new feature-length Yamato anime film directed by Hideaki Anno and Yutaka Izubuchi, is officially in production as the first-ever joint project between Production I.G and Studio Khara.
What happened
The film was announced on October 6, 2026 in Japan, the 52nd anniversary of the original Space Battleship Yamato TV premiere on October 6, 1974. An official website went live the same day with a teaser visual showing the battleship Yamato poised to launch from a ruined, barren landscape toward a starfield. The Japanese title is Uchū Senkan Yamato √2199; the logo prints the English name as “Cosmoship Yamato,” and the √ symbol is read as “Root.” Anime News Network notes that the same “Uchū Senkan” prefix has previously been rendered as “Space Battleship” or “Space Cruiser.”
The credits published so far are short but heavy. Hideaki Anno handles planning, serves as production executive producer, and directs, while also sharing design works. Yutaka Izubuchi, chief director of the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 remake series, co-directs and shares design works. Production I.G founder Mitsuhisa Ishikawa is credited for planning alongside Anno. Yoshinobu Nishizaki is credited as original creator, animation production is listed as “Production I.G × Studio Khara,” and the production company is Shin Office Academy.
According to the announcement coverage, the film has been in production since 2024 and is described as a work that charts a different course from the ongoing Yamato 2199 remake line. No release date, cast, distributor, or runtime has been revealed; the staff say timing will be announced once it is decided. The official site also quotes Anno describing himself as “a huge Yamato fan since the second year of junior high school,” in Anime News Network’s translation.
The project traces back to October 2024, when Anno announced at the franchise’s 50th anniversary screening that Khara had received approval from rights holders Voyager Holdings and Tohokushinsha Film Corporation to produce new anime footage based on Space Battleship Yamato. Izubuchi appeared at that event and confirmed he was involved.
Why Cosmoship Yamato matters
This is the clearest example yet of Anno pouring his post-Evangelion clout into the franchise that made him want to make anime in the first place. After the Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider run, a Yamato film was the obvious next swing, and he has spent years building toward it in public.
The studio pairing is the bigger industry story. Khara is a small, director-driven shop built around Anno’s projects; Production I.G has decades of feature experience, including Patlabor: The Movie, which Izubuchi also worked on. Anno joined Production I.G’s board of directors in August 2025, so this team-up has been quietly lined up for a while. A first joint production between the two is a signal that √2199 is being resourced as a major theatrical release, not a one-off anniversary short.
For artists, Yamato is a masterclass in mechanical design: the ship’s silhouette alone carries the whole teaser. Seeing how Anno and Izubuchi, both designers as well as directors, reinterpret it will be worth studying frame by frame once footage appears.
There is also a timing wrinkle. The current remake line, Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199, opens its seventh and final film in Japan on October 30. Announcing √2199 weeks before that finale tells fans the franchise is not going quiet, and positions Anno’s film as the next era rather than a rival.
What we know vs what is rumored
- Confirmed: Feature-length film titled Uchū Senkan Yamato √2199 (Cosmoship Yamato √2199), announced October 6, 2026, with an official website and teaser visual.
- Confirmed: Hideaki Anno (planning, production executive producer, director, design works) and Yutaka Izubuchi (director, design works); Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (planning); Production I.G and Studio Khara co-producing animation; Shin Office Academy producing.
- Confirmed: In production since 2024 and positioned as a separate path from the Yamato 2199 remake series.
- Unconfirmed: Release date or window, voice cast, distributor, runtime, and any overseas release or streaming plan.
- Unconfirmed: How closely the story follows the original 1974 series or the 2012 Yamato 2199 remake beyond the “different course” description.
What happens next
The team says release timing and further details will be announced as they are decided, so watch the official website for the first staff and cast expansion. In the meantime, Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199 wraps the current remake saga with its final film on October 30 in Japan. Western distribution for √2199 has not been mentioned; we will update when a licensor or trailer appears.
Sources: Anime News Network — Hideaki Anno, Yutaka Izubuchi Co-Direct Yamato √2199 Film at I.G, Khara; Eiga.com — Yamato √2199 feature film confirmed with Anno and Izubuchi, Khara and Production I.G; Oricon News — New Yamato √2199 film confirmed, directed by Hideaki Anno; Mantan Web — Yamato √2199 feature, I.G × Khara co-production; Cosmoship Yamato √2199 official website