Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Movie Sets U.S. Release Window

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a phenomenon like few others, and it will revisit fans soon enough. The anime has become one of the fastest-growing in years, so you can see why the hype surrounding its first movie is high. Plenty of new info about the Mugen Train movie went live today, and it turns out the Demon Slayer movie has decided on a U.S. release window.

The information comes courtesy of the official English page for Demon Slayer on Twitter. It is there fans were treated to a look at Mugen Train‘s new poster, and the translated key art confirms the movie will debut in 2021.

At this point, there is no information on when the film will release exactly, but fans have their guesses. Anime films do take longer to bring overseas from Japan given their dubbing and subbing requirements. This means movies can take 3+ months to screen in the U.S. after their Japanese premiere, but the wait is often closer to 5-6 months.

With the Demon Slayer film slated to premiere in Japan this October, the earliest fans overseas might get it would be January 2021. That seems wholly unlikely given the ongoing pandemic that has shuttered theaters all over the United States. It seems a spring release is far more likely come March or April… but that is only if COVID-19 allows such a debut.

Demon Slayer will do the best it can to get its first films to fans around the world. However, if it does have to shift this release window, it will not be the first anime movie to do so. Earlier this year, Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna was slated to hit theaters, but its release aligned with the first spike of COVID-19 stateside. The premiere was canceled with the hope of rescheduling, but it has since been announced the film will forgo theaters for a home video drop instead.

Are you surprised by this 2021 release date for U.S. markets? Or did you expect as much from Demon Slayer even before the pandemic set in? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!