Yasuhisa Hara’s Kingdom has been branching out in some major ways with its manga and anime releases, and now it’s gearing up for the release of its next live-action feature film in Japan with a new trailer hyping up all of the new characters making the jump to the big screen! Hara’s original manga series has been a major success since it launched with Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump magazine, and has gotten even bigger thanks to the success of its anime adaptation (currently making its way through its fourth season this Spring). It even had a feature film live-action version released a few years ago.
This first live-action film proved to be such a hit with fans that not long after it was confirmed that the franchise would be getting a sequel film. Titled Kingdom II: To Distant Lands, this new film is getting ready to hit theaters across Japan later this Summer and fans have gotten another major idea of what to expect from this next feature with a new trailer showing off more of the new movie before it hits! You can check it out below:
Joining the cast for the sequel are the likes of Yusuke Hirayama as Mou Bu, Koichi Sato as Ryo Fui, Hiroshi Tamaki as Sho Hei Kun, Amane Okayama as Bi Hei, Takahiro Miura as Bit?, Takayuki Hamatsu as Taku Kei, Nana Seino as Ky? Kai, Tsutomu Takahashi as Kyu Gen, Yukiyoshi Ozawa as Go Kei, Etsushi Toyokawa as Duke Hyo, Kiyohiko Shibukawa as Baku Koshin, and Chihiro Yamamoto plays Kyo Sho. They’ll be joining the previously confirmed returning trio of Kento Yamazaki as Shin, Ryo Yoshizawa as Ei Sei, and Kanna Hashimoto as Ka Ryo Ten.
Shunsuke Sato (who previously directed the live-action projects for Bleach, Gantz, and is currently attached to Legendary Pictures’ My Hero Academia movie) returns to direct the live-action Kingdom sequel and co-wrote the film alongside original series creator Yasuhira Hara and One Piece Film: Red writer Tsutomu Kuroiwa. Unfortunately while Kingdom II is currently scheduled to release through theaters in Japan on July 16th, there has yet to be any word on whether it will be getting an international release of its own. The first film did, so there is a possible chance it could happen!
What do you think? How are you liking the look of Kingdom II so far? How did you like the first live-action film? How do you feel about the live-action films compared to the anime and manga releases? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!
