Anime News Service is reporting that work is well underway on Appleseed Saga Ex Machina, a second 3D anime feature film based on the manga series by Masamune Shirow.  The first computer-animated Appleseed film debuted in Japan in 2004 and did very well here in U.S. when Geneon released it on DVD in the spring of 2005 (see 'Appleseed DVD Sells 85K').  A Playstation 2 game based on the 2004 Appleseed film will be released in September -- and the game also has a connection to Appleseed Saga Ex Machina, which is due to debut in 2007.

Shinji Aramaki, who directed the first Appleseed 3D feature, is also directing Appleseed Saga Ex Machina and John Woo is producing.