'Tokyo Ghoul' Live-Action Film Sequel Reveals New Still, Release Window

Sui Ishida may have brought Tokyo Ghoul's manga to an end, and the anime series will be ending soon as well, but the series will still live on into 2019 thanks to a new live-action film.

Tentatively titled Tokyo Ghoul 2, the distributor of the new film Shochiku revealed a new image from the film featuring Masataka Kubota as Ken Kaneki while confirming the film would be coming next Summer.

The upcoming Tokyo Ghoul 2 narrowed its release window to Summer 2019, and while this new image does not reveal much of what to expect in the new film it does highlight how Kubota returns to the role. The film has yet to reveal much about its content either, as the first teaser released for the film merely unveiled its tentative title.

The film has not only confirmed his return, but has revealed new characters as well with Maika Yamamoto portraying Toka Kirishima in the sequel. She'll be replacing Fumika Shimuzu, who has retired from acting since the first film's release.

The biggest addition for the film will be Shu Tsukiyama, who is a major character in the manga and anime but had yet to show up in live-action. He will be portrayed by Shota Matsuda (Akiyama in Liar's Game), so fans are hoping for the best portrayal for such a fan-favorite.

The first live-action Tokyo Ghoul film released in Japan last July, but had its world premiere during Anime Expo 2017. The film has since screened for a limited time in theaters thanks to Funimation, who have licensed the film for a Blu-ray and DVD release. The film was received well by critics and fans of the original series, and was one of the few live-action anime adaptations that was not outright panned across the board.

Originally created by Sui Ishida for Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump in 2011, Tokyo Ghoul is set in a world full of Ghouls, beings who eat humans and have been living among them in secret. A student named Ken Kaneki has a chance encounter with one of these ghouls, and a resulting accident leaves him implanted with the organs from the ghoul who attacked him. In order to live a somewhat normal life, Kaneki needs to eat human flesh to survive. Thus he's brought into the underground, action filled world of the ghouls as the series ponders who the "real" monster is.