Written by: Gabriel Castillo
Published on: August 14, 2021 at 1:37 PM PM PHT (GMT+8)
Shinsuke Sato is set to direct Legendary’s live-action rendition of the popular manga “My Hero Academia” written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi reported by THR on Friday. This film serves as the acclaimed Japanese filmmaker’s first full-length English work. Sato is known for other live-action adaptations such as Alice in Borderland, Bleach, Kingdom, I am a Hero, and many others.
Hollywood’s live-action adaptation under Legendary Pictures (known for works like Pacific Rim, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, Godzilla vs. Kong, and many others) was first announced in 2018. The manga’s editor, Ryosuke Yoritomi, will oversee the project for Shueisha while Alex Garcia and Jay Ashenfelter will oversee for Legendary Entertainment. Toho is in charge of distribution in Japan.
The series is based on the Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, with its chapters additionally collected into 27 tankōbon volumes as of July 2020.
The manga inspired five TV anime seasons. The anime's first season aired in Japan from April to June 2016 with 13 episodes, followed by a second season from April to September 2017 with 25 episodes, then a third season from April to September 2018 with 25 episodes and a fourth season from October 2019 to April 2020 with another 25 episodes. The fifth season premiered on March 27, 2021.
The story follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers (called Quirks) in a world where they have become commonplace, but who still dreams of becoming a hero himself. He is scouted by All Might, Japan's greatest hero, who shares his Quirk with Midoriya after recognizing his potential, and later helps to enroll him in a prestigious high school for heroes in training.
The franchise has also spawned three films. The first, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, premiered in 2018 which made about 500 million Yen on its opening weekend and grossed a total of $19.5 million worldwide. The second, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, was released in 2019 and earned 422 million Yen on its opening weekend while grossing $28.7 million worldwide. The third, “My Hero Academia THE MOVIE: World Heroes’ Mission”, premiered last Friday and earned approximately 940 million yen in ticket sales over the weekend. The most recent installment still had Kenji Nagasaki as its director, under Kohei Horikoshi’s supervision, Yosuke Kuroda as the writer, and the TV series’ cast reprising their roles.
Check out the third animated film’s synopsis from Anime News Network:
When a cult of anti-quirk terrorists destroys a city by releasing a gas that causes people's powers to go wildly out of control, Japan's greatest heroes disperse across the globe in an attempt to find the ringleader and bring him to justice. As part of Endeavor's team, Deku, Bakugo, and Todoroki travel to the European nation of Otheon. But after stopping a robbery gone wrong, Deku finds himself framed for mass murder and on the run with a two-bit criminal—with both Otheon's police force and the terrorists hot on his trail.
