My Hero Academia’s live-action is finally moving ahead – and has landed a director that might be well known to anime fans.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Shinsuke Sato has come on board the adaptation of Kohei Horikoshi’s hit manga and, latterly, an anime that has taken the world by storm.
Sato has history adapting anime and manga for the big screen in Japan. He has previously directed Death Note: Light Up the New World and Bleach. Curiously, he was also involved in the development of Tekken 4. My Hero Academia, however, is set to be Sato’s first English language film.
My Hero Academia sees a boy named Izuku, born without a superpower (or ‘Quirk’) into a world teeming with heroes. But he doesn’t let a little thing like being powerless stop him – and begins training to become one of the world’s strongest heroes at a superhero academy. A gamut of heroes, villains, and superpowered mayhem inevitably follows.
But even the most ardent fan of My Hero Academia might be forgiven for forgetting that a live-action movie is in the works. It’s been in development since 2018 without a director attached, and it’s not yet known when the movie will be released, nor which parts of the source material it will be adapting.
Still, it’s a move that means there’s arguably never been a better time to be an anime fan. While the likes of Akira and Your Name’s live-action adaptations are in various states of limbo, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train’s surprise box office returns has kickstarted a new renaissance in the medium. It’s been bolstered by a 12 months that will see Attack on Titan’s final season return, Demon Slayer season 2 hit screens, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean heading to Netflix.
It’s not longer a quirk – anime is becoming mainstream. Let’s hope My Hero Academia follows suit on the big screen.
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