In June 2008, it was reported that Lawrence Kasdan had been hired to write the film, with Charles Roven and Akiva Goldsman joining Tobey Maguire as producers. During the Robotech Panel at Anime Expo 2008, the involvement of Maguire and Kasdan was confirmed, with Kasdan writing the script for the live-action film. Tommy Yune also revealed that the film is planned as a re-imagining of the original "Robotech" universe (with new updated mecha and character designs) and will take place several years in the future, departing from the original cartoon's 2009 setting.