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Everything to Know About Demon Slayer’s Infinity Castle Movie Trilogy

Here’s everything you need to know to be ready for Demon Slayer’s new movie trilogy 

ufotable / Shueisha

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is coming back with a new movie kicking off a brand new trilogy of feature films coming to theaters, so it’s time to get ready for what’s coming next. Demon Slayer‘s TV anime wrapped up the fourth season of its run last year with its adaptation of the Hashira Training Arc from Koyoharu Gotoge’s original manga series. It was then quickly confirmed that the anime would be continuing, but rather than a new season as fans thought, it was announced that the anime would be returning to theaters instead for the next phase of Tanjiro Kamado’s story.

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle was then announced to be the next step for the anime, and it was confirmed to be a brand new trilogy of feature films going to theaters. Touting that it’s going to be adapting the final battles between the Demon Slaying Corps and Muzan Kibutsuji’s demonic forces, this new trilogy is going to be bringing the heat when it finally kicks off later this year around the world. So here’s everything to know so far about what to expect from this massive project in the making.

ufotable / Shueisha

When Does Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Come Out?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle will first be coming to theaters on July 18th in Japan, and then in the United States and Canada beginning on September 12th. Distributed by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, the international release dates for the film break down as such:

  • August 14: Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan
  • August 15: Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam
  • August 20: Philippines
  • September 11: Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean (Jamaica, Aruba, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao), Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland (Italian-speaking), Syria, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates
  • September 12: India, Mongolia, Spain, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Kenya, Latvia, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Southern Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom
  • September 17: Belgium, France, French-speaking Africa, Luxembourg, Switzerland (French-speaking)
  • September 18: Moldova
  • September 25: Austria, Germany, Switzerland (German-speaking)

These release dates are only for the first film in the new trilogy, however, as there have yet to be any release windows or dates announced for the final two films.

ufotable / Shueisha

What Is Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle About?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle will be picking up right from where the TV anime left things off as Tanjiro and the other surviving Hashira (along with every single Demon Slayer) have been transported to Muzan Kibutsuji’s mysterious Infinity Castle. The synopsis for the film begins to tease itself as such, โ€œTanjiro Kamado โ€“ a boy who joined an organization dedicated to hunting down demons called the Demon Slayer Corps after his younger sister Nezuko was turned into a demon.ย While growing stronger and deepening his friendships and bonds with fellow corps members, Tanjiro has battled many demons with his comrades โ€“ Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira.โ€

The synopsis continues with, ย โ€œAlong the way, his journey has led him to fight alongsideย the Demon Slayer Corpsโ€™ highest-ranking swordsmen, the Hashira, including Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku aboard the Mugen Train, Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui within the Entertainment District, as well as Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito and Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji at the Swordsmith Village. As the Demon Slayer Corps members and Hashira engaged in a group strength training program, the Hashira Training, in preparation for the forthcoming battle against the demons, Muzan Kibutsuji appears at the Ubuyashiki Mansion.โ€

The synopsis then drops an ominous tease for the final battles with, “With the head of the Demon Corps in danger, Tanjiro and the Hashira rush to the headquarters but are plunged into a deep descent to a mysterious space by the hands of Muzan Kibutsuji. The destination of where Tanjiro and Demon Slayer Corps have fallen is the demonsโ€™ stronghold โ€“ the Infinity Castle. And so, the battleground is set as the final battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons ignites.โ€

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Where to Read in the Demon Slayer Manga

If you wanted to get the jump on the new movies, the best place to start is with Demon Slayer‘s original manga release. The series is now complete, and will likely adapt the final chapters with this new trilogy. Therefore, if you wanted to be prepared for everything that goes down the best place to do it is starting with Chapter 140 of Gotoge’s manga. This chapter picks up right from Tanjiro and the others getting dropped into the Infinity Castle, and goes up to Chapter 183. This arc runs for 44 chapters in total, and is the longest arc in Gotoge’s manga overall.

This arc spans across the many final battles between Tanjiro and the others against the final members of the Upper Ranks, but there could be a final surprise in store even for those aware of how the manga keeps going from this point on. Because technically there’s still one final arc that takes place after Infinity Castle that runs for 22 chapters on its own. This trilogy is touting that it’s going to be bringing the anime run to an end, and if all 66 chapters are adapted we could be seeing 22 chapters a movie (or a likely better balance between the three of them).

It’s a massive undertaking for sure, so a trilogy makes a ton of sense to take on such a massive half of the series. But as fans watch each film, the cliffhangers and wait between them are going to feel pretty painful until it all comes to a proper end. Then again, that’s only if Demon Slayer stops with these new movies. This might be the end of the anime, but might be far from the end of its releases as there is still one big opportunity to keep this going for a little longer.

Demon Slayer fans were surprised to see that the TV anime would not be returning for a Season 5, but one isn’t off the table entirely. There is a precedent that we’ll see the TV series continue with a new edit or adaptation of the new films. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train was such a hit when it first debuted in theaters that the TV series continued with a second season that adapted the movie into multiple episodes. Things kicked off for this season with a brand new episode setting the stage for Mugen Train’s events, and that very well could be the case here.

ufotable / Shueisha

Will There Be a Demon Slayer Season 5?

Following the likely success of this new trilogy, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle would be prime to return in a new TV format. This would also alleviate any issues about potentially skipped over material for a film’s runtime, and could be used to flesh out any elements that didn’t get enough time before. It’s what was eventually seen with the Hashira Training Arc as it added weeks of brand new material not seen in the manga release, and fans would get the opportunity to enjoy the arc all over again.

The main issue from this potential path, however, is the fact that a Demon Slayer TV anime re-release won’t hit the high mark with fans that they could expect. So the other option is to end the anime run with that secret 22 chapter final arc instead. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle‘s trilogy could bring us to this ultimate climax, and then fans could see it play out in a final season potentially the next year. It’s just going to be a tough balance for the anime team to figure out. This is also where fans are going to need to brace themselves for the anime’s future.

Demon Slayer’s TV anime could be officially over, but it’s such a juggernaut of a franchise that it’s hard to imagine that these films will truly be the end of it. That’s even more true as the Infinity Castle isn’t really the end of the series either. That’s the big question going into this new trilogy that won’t seem clear until we get to see the first film. Once we get to see where this first film cuts off in the arc, we’ll then be able to gauge just how far the films will go with their adaptation. So while we know a lot about the trilogy for now, that’s unfortunately going to be the one element that’s still a mystery until the films’ releases.

What are you hoping to see go down in the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle trilogy? Do you think this will really be the end of the Demon Slayer anime? Let us know all of your thoughts about it and everything anime in the comments!