Posted in: Anime, Movies, Sony | Tagged: anime, film, Gantz, Julius Avery, overlord
Gantz Live-Action Film Taps Overlord Director Julius Avery
In the age of Hollywood anime and manga adaptations, we're starting to see traction for well-known Japanese IPs, and the next property slated to be adapted as a live-action film is the popular title Gantz.
The news comes straight from Deadline, who notes that the live-action Gantz will be a Sony Pictures film, with a director already tapped to bring the story to life. The site reports that Sony officially selected Overlord director Julius Avery for the project, with his experience in a visceral, bloody and supernatural film that was generally well-received by critics and moviegoers.
The new Gantz project will also include a script adapted by Marc Guggenheim (Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Green Lantern), with Temple Hill confirmed to be producing the upcoming film. It's also noted that the film is in the very early stages of development without any traction on an official start date – but the confirmation of a writer and director is at least some form of progress for eager Gantz fans.
For those of you who either need a refresher or aren't familiar with Gantz, the manga "Tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous 'game' in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed with a handful of futuristic items, equipment, and weaponry." The ongoing title ran for 37 volumes between 2000-2013, spawning a 26 episode anime series, a Japanese live-action film, and even several spin-off manga series, with one actively in publication. The popularity of a title like Gantz presents a lot of opportunities, and with Cowboy Bebop just around the corner, we'll see how successful modern anime adaptations can be.
Are you interested in the concept of a Gantz film for Sony Pictures?