At Anime Expo 2004, Harmony Gold USA revealed that Robotech: Shadow Force was in production to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Robotech in 2005.

The name of the new story arc was soon changed to Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, and the film was completed on January 27, 2006. This project was initially met with skepticism from the fan community, due to Harmony Gold's spotty track record of completing Robotech sequels and spin-offs in past decades. The first teaser trailer debuted at Anime Expo 2005. An official trailer was later released on The Shadow Chronicles website during the NATPE conference, a broadcast industry trade show. Harmony Gold held a number of film festival showings in 2006, but FUNimation delayed the theatrical and Region 1 DVD release until January 5 and February 6, 2007, respectively.