TL;DR, The teaser for Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe premiered alongside a visual, and Part 1 will open in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2026. Mamoru Oshii directs, Ryosuke Takahashi supervises, and Production I.G and Sunrise co-produce.

A new teaser and visual have arrived for the two-part film Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe, and the first part now has a firm date. The official site confirmed a Japanese theatrical opening on November 20, 2026, with Mamoru Oshii directing and original series creator Ryosuke Takahashi supervising. For longtime VOTOMS fans, this is the first brand-new project in 15 years.

Armored Trooper VOTOMS Die Graue Hexe leans into hard-edged mecha war, a lane both Oshii and VOTOMS know well. G and Sunrise as co-producers, signaling a collaboration that pairs a storied real robot legacy with a director known for precise, cold-blooded action. The original 1983 to 1984 TV series set the template for grounded mecha combat and political intrigue.

This film’s title, translated as The Gray Witch, hints at fresh mythos inside that same battlefield realism.

Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe teaser drops, Part 1 confirmed for November 20 2026

The official website published a teaser trailer and a new key visual, then locked in the Part 1 release date for Japanese theaters on November 20 2026. The clip arrives as the series’ first wholly new project in 15 years, setting the tone for a two-part return under a veteran team. If you were waiting for a concrete theatrical release, the calendar is now set.

The footage was introduced alongside the visual that carries the line, “An endless battlefield ruled by madness.” That phrase, paired with director Mamoru Oshii’s comment about making a serious war action, frames expectations for a stripped-down, mechanical conflict. It positions the Armored Trooper VOTOMS Die Graue Hexe trailer as a tone-setter rather than a plot reveal, which fits the franchise’s taste for slow-burn intrigue.

What is confirmed today is only Part 1. The second film’s timing was not revealed at the time of the announcement. No runtime, cast, or international plans are listed either, and streaming details are not yet confirmed.

The site’s update centers on the theatrical release window and the creative lineup, so treat everything else as pending. For searchers looking for the Armored Trooper VOTOMS Die Graue Hexe release date, it is the November 20 2026 opening in Japan, with Part 2 details to follow when the producers are ready to share them.

Who is working on Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe

The film comes with heavyweight names straight from the announcement. Mamoru Oshii directs, while original series creator and director Ryosuke Takahashi serves as supervisor. G teams with Sunrise, the studio behind the 1983 TV run, to co-produce.

Kenji Kawai, Oshii’s frequent collaborator, is composing the music, which should suit the film’s austere battlefield mood.

• Mamoru Oshii: Director, aiming for what he calls a serious war action.
• Ryosuke Takahashi: Supervisor, bringing the Armored Trooper VOTOMS lineage into the film’s oversight.
• Production I.G and Sunrise: Co-producing the project.
• Kenji Kawai: Composer for the soundtrack.
• Shinobu Tsuneki and Yoshihiro Sono: Mechanical design team members.

On mecha design, Shinobu Tsuneki previously handled designs for Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These, while Yoshihiro Sono worked as an illustrator on the manga Armored Trooper Votoms: AT Stories. That pairing suggests detailed, functional armored trooper silhouettes over super-robot flash. In a message on the site, Oshii kept it blunt about his approach to VOTOMS.

“I’m taking this seriously. I’m seriously making a war action.”

Takahashi echoed the sentiment by praising what he called the “Oshii touch.” For fans tracking creative pedigrees, this is the Mamoru Oshii VOTOMS project under guidance from the franchise’s originator, Ryosuke Takahashi. With Sunrise back in the mix and Production I.G leading modern production muscle, the Production I.G VOTOMS movie setup looks engineered for precision, not gloss.

What the Die Graue Hexe teaser visual hints about the story

The visual anchors everything around its tagline: “An endless battlefield ruled by madness.” That line points to a story tone steeped in attrition, dehumanizing conflict, and the churn of mechanized warfare. It fits the franchise’s real robot DNA, where pilots and machines grind through wars that feel industrial rather than heroic.

The title itself invites speculation. Die Graue Hexe, translated as Armored Trooper VOTOMS The Gray Witch, could suggest a figure, a legend, or an operation name. The announcement does not confirm which, so treat it as thematic framing.

Still, pairing that title with the tagline implies a theater where reason gives way to survival, and where mecha war action is methodical, cramped, and lethal. That lines up with Oshii’s stated focus on a serious war action and with VOTOMS’ track record of tactical skirmishes and moral ambiguity.

For context, the original series followed Chirico Cuvie, a soldier marked by betrayal during an interstellar conflict. The new film does not confirm returning characters, but the imagery’s promise of an endless battlefield suggests a similar ground-level perspective. Expect the camera to live close to the machines and their operators, prioritizing weighty movement, situational tension, and battlefield noise over spectacle.

None of this is plot confirmation, only what the teaser visual and the team’s comments point toward.

As Part 1 of the Armored Trooper VOTOMS 2026 movie arrives, the immediate takeaway is restraint and menace rather than exposition. Taken together, the teaser visual, the tagline, and the Oshii and Takahashi messages steer Armored Trooper VOTOMS Die Graue Hexe toward a hardened war story told in two acts.

Source: Crunchyroll