Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Gundam’ casting raises whitewashing concerns

The casting of Sydney Sweeney and Noah Centineo as rival mech pilots in a war between Earth and its space colonies places two white American actors at the center of the live-action Mobile Suit Gundam, a Japanese franchise defined by war, colonialism and identity. The announcement follows Sweeney’s appearance in her controversial 2025 American Eagle campaign criticized for its use of genetics language. In “Gundam,” human evolution is not abstract but central to the conflict, with evolved individuals identified and deployed in war.

Created in 1979, “Gundam” established its identity through depictions of militarized expansion into space, civilian displacement and political conflict between Earth-based governments and off-world populations. Those stories are grounded in Japanese postwar concerns and repeatedly frame pilots as instruments of state power rather than individual heroes. Placing two white American actors at the center of that framework changes the point of identification while leaving the underlying conflict intact.

That shift follows a pattern in Hollywood’s failed adaptations of Japanese works, including “Dragonball Evolution” (2009), “Death Note” (2017), and “Ghost in the Shell” (2017). Even with Scarlett Johansson in the lead, “Ghost in the Shell” ultimately lost an estimated $60 million after its theatrical run despite her perceived star power.

Among the film’s two leads, Sweeney’s recent public image adds another layer to that pattern. In the 2025 campaign for American Eagle, she describes how inherited traits such as eye color and personality are passed from parents to offspring, a message paired with imagery of a blonde, blue-eyed actor that drew criticism for invoking genetic desirability.

“Gundam” organizes its central conflicts through Newtypes, individuals whose heightened spatial awareness and perception emerge from humanity’s expansion into space. Their abilities allow them to anticipate enemy movement, communicate across distance and operate mobile suits with greater precision, leading factions to identify, monitor and deploy them as strategic assets.

The film does not adapt a confirmed existing “Gundam” storyline, which makes those roles the primary point of entry into a political universe built on war between Earth and its space colonies. The characters may be new, but they inherit the narrative function historically carried by figures like Amuro Ray and Char Aznable.

The film is directed by Jim Mickle and produced by Legendary Pictures in partnership with Bandai Namco Filmworks, with filming underway in Queensland, Australia. The ensemble includes Shioli Kutsuna, Jason Isaacs, Michael Mando, Nonso Anozie, Javon Walton and Gemma Chua-Tran.

The film introduces new pilots rather than adapting established characters, placing its central conflict in roles created for this adaptation. Those roles determine how the war between Earth and its space colonies is seen, who drives it and whose perspective defines it.

Sweeney and Centineo are credited as both leads and producers on the film, giving them influence over the story’s development.