'Blade Of The Immortal' Movie Release Date Announced; Cast To Include Takuya Kimura!
It has been announced this week that production for upcoming "Blade of the Immortal" movie is now in the works, and it is slated for 2017 release as reported by Spinoff Online.
With this announcement, "Blade of the Immortal" movie now becomes one of the most anticipated films in the next two years. The said film is the live-action adaptation of Japanese manga series of the same title by Hiroaki Samura. It has been adapted into an anime series in 2008, produced by Bee Train and Production IG and directed by Koichi Mashimo, with a total of 13 episodes.
The film will be directed by Miike Takahashi, one of Japan's most controversial filmmakers. Takahashi, 55, has made over 90 film, theater, and TV productions since his debut in 1991. He is best known for directing "Audition," "Dead or Alive," and the first "One Missed Call" film. One of his recent works include the live-action version of "As the Gods Will." Takashi revealed that he will start working on "Blade of the Immortal" movie after the release of his another live-action project "Terra Formars" in spring next year according to Anime News Network.
At the same time, it was announced that notable actor and singer Takuya Kimura has been selected to play the role of the immortal hero Manji. Kimura, 42, is popularly known as "Kimutaku" and a member of longtime idol group SMAP, having one of the most successful careers in Japanese entertainment. Mike personally chose Kimutaku to star in the film according to Japan Today.
Known locally in Japan as "Mugen no Juunin," the story is set in the mid-Tokugawa Shogunate period (1603-1868) and follows the adventures of Manji, the cursed rounin warrior who is on a mission to kill 1,000 evil men so he could regain his mortality. The manga was originally published in Afternoon magazine and it was serialized from June 1993 to December 2012, with Kodansha releasing a total of 30 volumes. The English version is published by Dark Horse comics until October 2007, when the company stopped publishing monthly issues of the manga.
