Armored Trooper Votoms is coming back. The 43-year-old military sci-fi franchise officially returns on November 20 with a new film, The Grey Witch, directed by Mamoru Oshii.

In an interview with CBR, Oshii discussed his respect for the original work, saying there was "no way I could mess it up." That reverence matters for a series whose gritty, grounded mecha realism built a devoted following well beyond its 1980s origins.

Oshii — best known internationally for Ghost in the Shell — taking the helm of a Votoms revival pairs one of anime's most distinctive directors with one of its most uncompromising mecha properties. For longtime fans, the November 20 date ends a decades-long wait for a major theatrical return; for newcomers, it's a rare entry point into a franchise that helped define the real-robot genre.