Toei and Sony Pictures are teaming up to develop a new live-action film adaption of Masami Kurumada‘s Saint Seiya manga entitled Knights of the Zodiac (Saint Seiya: The Beginning in Japan). The new trailer reveals the movie’s April 28 opening date in Japan. The release date outside of Japan is yet to be revealed.
The movie stars:
- Mackenyu (One Piece live-action Roronoa Zoro) as Seiya
- Madison Isenman (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) as Sienna Kido/Athena
- Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring) as Alman Kido
- Diego Tinoco (On My Block) as Nero
- Famke Janssen (X-men, GoldenEye) as Guraad
- Mark Dacascos (Brotherhood of the Wolf, John Wick 3) as Mylock
- Nick Stahl as (Sin City, Let the Right One In) Cassius
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Directing the movie is Polish animation and special effects creator Tomasz Baginski (Academy Award-nominated short animation “Katedra”, and executive producer for The Witcher series). Andy Cheng (Shang-Chi and Legend of the Ten Rings, Shanghai Noon) is the stunt and fight coordinator. The screenplay is by Josh Campbell (10 Cloverfield Lane) and Matt Stuecken (Notorious Nick). Sony Pictures Global Acquisitions will distribute the movie outside of Japan with the exception of China and the Middle East, whereas Toei handles distribution in Japan.
The official English website of the Knights of the Zodiac describes the story as:
When a headstrong street orphan in search of his abducted sister unwittingly taps into hidden powers, he discovers he might be the only person alive who can protect a reincarnated goddess, sent to watch over humanity. He will only become a Knight of the Zodiac when he can let his sister go and embrace his destiny.
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What is Saint Seiya about?
The plot of Saint Seiya centers on five mystical warriors known as Saints, who battle while donning sacred suits of armor called “Cloths”, the patterns of which are inspired by the different constellations that the characters have chosen as their personal guardian symbols. The “Cloths” are energized by a mysterious force known as “Cosmo”. The Saints vowed to stand up for the Greek goddess Athena in her battle with other Olympian deities who want to rule Earth.
Saint Seiya also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac started as manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. The manga series was first serialized in Shueisha’s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1986 to 1990, with chapters collected into twenty-eight tankōbon volumes. Several television anime, original video anime projects, anime movies, and spin-off manga have been influenced by the manga. 35 million copies of the original series have been printed.
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The spin-off manga, Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō manga also has an anime. The original manga was published in English by Viz Media under the name Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac. Knights of the Zodiac was the name given to the English-dubbed anime adaptation of Toei Animation by ADV Films. Saint Seiya was the name given to the unedited version. Later, the show was also made available on DVD by New Video Group.
The second season of the CG anime remake Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, Battle for Sanctuary, Crunchy on July 31. In July 2019, the first part, which included the first six episodes, had its first global debut. The first season of the anime, which consists of 12 episodes, tells the tale from the Galaxian Wars to the Silver Saints arcs of the manga. The anime will get a third season.
Watch the Knights of the Zodiac trailer here:
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