Kingdom Live-Action Movie Sequel Confirms Release Window With New Trailer
Kingdom is coming out with a new live-action film soon, and has dropped the first trailer revealing when the new sequel will be hitting theaters in Japan! Yasuhira Hara's original manga series has been expanding in a number of ways in the past few years. Although the third season of the anime had been delayed due to complications from the ongoing COVID pandemic, it was soon revealed to be such a success that a fourth season is now in the works. All the while, the newest live-action effort for the franchise has been in the works as well.
Originally debuting in Japan in April 2019 before getting an international release later that Summer, it was announced the following year that director Shunsuke Sato would be returning for a new Kingdom film that was now in the works. It's been quite some time since that initial announcement, but thankfully fans have finally gotten a first look at Kingdom II: To Distant Lands. Scheduled for a release in theaters in Japan some time later this Summer, you can check out the first trailer for the new movie below:
Shunsuke Sato (who has also overseen the live-action projects for Bleach, Gantz, and who is currently attached to Legendary Pictures' My Hero Academia movie) will be directing the new Kingdom movie and co-writing the film alongside series creator Yasuhira Hara and One Piece Film: Red writer Tsutomu Kuroiwa. Yutaka Yamada will be composing the music for the new film, and the trailer confirms that the previous main trio of Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa, and Kanna Hashimoto are all returning to reprise Shin, Ei Sei, and Ka Ryo Ten respectfully. This initial announcement does not offer a concrete release date, however, and no confirmation of international release plans as of this writing either.
Series creator Yasuhira Hara had this to say when Kingdom II was first officially announced, "A sequel to the live-action film Kingdom is in the works! Thanks to the fact that more people than we could had imagined watched the first film, it has led to the sequel. Thank you so much! I've had the pleasure of being involved in the lengthy screenplay conference this time as well. Ouki said to Shin, 'Let's meet on the battlefield.' It's going to be a solid portrayal of that world. I believe that people will enjoy the battlefield and drama that will remain in the history of Japanese films on a larger scale than the previous film. The release is still some time away, but please, everyone, I hope you're looking forward to it."
What do you think of this first look at the new live-action Kingdom film? How did you like the first Kingdom movie? What are you hoping to see in the sequel? 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!