Despite numerous attempts, the Hollywood industry rarely finds the right formula to successfully bring recognized works from the manga/anime world to the world. Live action. From stuffy productions that fail to do justice to the universes they adapt to creative teams that seem to completely ignore what makes the source material so special in the first place, the list of disappointments is undeniably higher than that of truly good or “salvageable” projects. But that doesn’t mean American producers will stop trying.

Therefore, here we present a list of some notable manga and/or anime titles that will soon receive their respective adaptations. Live action made in the United States.

Your name

When we talk about original films in Japanese animation, few titles in modern times have captured the hearts of local and international audiences like this Your name. (2016). Neither slow nor lazy, JJ Abrams obtained the rights to develop one through his production company Bad Robot Live action in 2017. After the departure of directors such as Marc Webb (500 days with her) and Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), responsibility remains in the hands of Carlos López Estrada (Raya and the Last Dragon). With a reimagined version that brings his story full of romance and tragedy to American territory, the Mexican filmmaker will manage to capture a little of the magic of the USA magnum opus by Makoto Shinkai?

Pokémon

The Pokémon world has not one, but two projects on the way. Just a week after its release, Legendary Pictures confirmed a sequel Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019). Although things have cooled on that front during the pandemic, it was recently reported that the sequel is still on track, presumably under the direction of series co-creator Jonathan Krisel. Portland. At the same time, Netflix announced in mid-2021 that they were already working on their own live-action adaptation: an independent series by Joe Henderson, Showrunner and executive producer of LuciferR. The question is: Will it be better than what the film starring Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds offered?

My Hero Academia

The story of Izuku Midoriya and the next generation of UA Academy heroes will also be given a cinematic treatment. Legendary announced in 2018 that it was developing a film based on the popular manga by Kōhei Horikoshi. Today we know that the direction will be taken by Shinsuke Satō, who has extensive experience in this field Live action Inspired by well-known manga and anime in Japan, her latest work is the most successful Alice in the Borderland. Despite it, My Hero Academia It will be the first production in English and although no official actors have been announced yet, it has been speculated that a cast of Japanese-American actors would be chosen. It will be exclusive to Netflix.

One punch man

The fever for epic stories about superheroes and supervillains continues with a film One punch man. With the right dose of comedy and action, here we follow the story of Saitama, a vigilante who can defeat anyone with a single blow and therefore longs to find a worthy opponent after the lack of challenges in his fight against the Bored badly. . Announced in April 2020, the Sony Pictures production will feature a screenplay co-written by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, who previously collaborated on it Poison (2018) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). Just last year, it was confirmed that Justin Lin would be taking over as director, responsible for five installments in the franchise. Fast and Furious.

Death notice

Will there be revenge or will they stumble over the same stone? After Adam Wingard’s disastrous 2017 film, Netflix wants to once again tell us the Machiavellian battle of wits between the enigmatic Light Yagami and “L” with a new adaptation Death notice, now in series format. Little is known about the approach that the red “N” platform will take on this occasion towards the original work by Tsugumi Ōba and Takeshi Obata. Still, there is a reason to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. The Duffer brothersCreator of the phenomenon Stranger Thingswill take the lead with their company Upside Down Pictures.

gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam It is a real institution when we talk about the franchises with the greatest longevity and profitability in the Land of the Rising Sun. Will Legendary Pictures be able to expand these assets into the international market? The live-action film inspired by the undisputed kings of wick was first announced at Anime Expo 2018 in more than four decades. Supported by Sunrise, Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) serves as director and producer from a script by acclaimed comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan (And: The Last Man). We don’t have an estimated release date yet, but we do know that it’s exclusive content for Netflix.

meteor

After a process that sources close to production have described as “excruciatingly slow,” Apple will be the home In Streaming from a series inspired by the 60s classic GoGoGoGobetter known to the Latin American public as meteor. Ron Fitzgerald (Westworld) and Hiram Martinez (Snow Piercer) will share the tasks Showrunner and screenwriters. His “exciting reinterpretation” of the material is said to have impressed all producers, including JJ Abrams. Of course, this isn’t the first time Hollywood has brought the automotive adventures of Meteoro and his Mach 5 car to the big screen. Will it surpass the Wachowski sisters’ version?

Beyblade

The “Beyblade” spinning top series, first brought onto the market in 1999 by the Takara Tomy company, has sold millions of copies worldwide and led to a gigantic multimedia franchise in Japan. Due to its ties to Hasbro in developing films based on its toy licenses, such as: Transformers either GI JoeParamount Pictures did not hesitate to take over the rights for a production Live action in 2015. And after a long time without news, it was confirmed in early 2022 that the film project will finally be brought to life by Jerry Bruckheimer, renowned producer behind Say Like Pirates of the Caribbean, Bad Boys either Top Gun. Let him rest in peace!

Hellsing

Alucard will rise again! Kohta Hirano’s cult action-horror manga will have its own project for the big screen. The Amazon Studios-hosted feature film, which will be unveiled in 2021, will be written by Derek Kolstad, the franchise’s co-creator John Wick and screenwriter of the film No one (2021) with Bob Odenkirk. Now, in case you’re unfamiliar, the plot revolves around the Hellsing Organization, led by the descendants of Abraham Van Helsing, whose goal is to protect Britain from all kinds of supernatural threats. The largest of these is Millennium, a Nazi organization that wants to revive the Third Reich through an army of vampires. Interested?

The promised neverland

The orphans of Grace Field House will also jump from manga and anime Live action In the United States. Thanks to its twists, psychological games and the charismatic main trio The promised neverland It soon became one of the most critically acclaimed works of recent years. Director Rodney Rothman and screenwriter Meghan Malloy, members of the team behind the Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) will lead the Amazon Studios series released in mid-2020. Although the task of depicting the inhospitable world that Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizua create in the manga seems complex, at least it can’t be worse than the second season of the anime, right?

Naruto

In July 2015, Lionsgate announced the acquisition of the rights to a film based on Masashi Kishimoto’s successful manga about an outcast boy who dreams of becoming Hokage, the ultimate ninja leader of his village. However, the years until 2023 passed without any major developments. Based on a screenplay signed by Tasha Huo (The Witcher: Dawn of Blood), the studio will step on the gas and release a live-action version of Naruto. It is unknown whether director Michael Gracey (the great showman) or producer Avi Arad (Ghost in the Shell: Guardians from the Future) are still involved in production, but we’ll surely have more news soon.

Logical order: Akira And attack on Titan… in limbo?

A common denominator among Hollywood adaptations Live action Manga or anime is that they are not exactly a priority for your studies. Despite acquiring the rights, countless projects remain eternally stuck in the pre-production phase until those in charge abandon the project, either due to creative differences or because they want to move forward with other proposals due to obstacles that do not get the green light. Some overcome adversity, others…

Two notable examples are Live action from Akira (in plans with Warner Bros. since 2002) and attack on Titan (in development with Warner since 2018). Without a doubt, titles of great prestige to whom luck did not bestow them. In the other cases, their status is in doubt due to the busy schedules of their directors: Taika Waititi (Thor: Love and Thunder), WHO would stay connected To Akiraand Andy Muschietti (lightning), who would adapt attack on Titan. Will any of these films ever see the light of day?

Which of the projects listed do you think have the best chance of living up to their print or animated counterpart? What manga/anime would you like to see adapted to the format? Live action?