'Kingdom' Live-Action Film Teases North American Screening With New Trailer

It would appear that the upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular manga series Kingdom is gearing up for a potential North American screening. While there's been no official word on when or if such a thing might happen, a new report and English-subtitled trailer certainly seem to indicate that it's very much in the cards.

You can check out the English-subtitled trailer, which premiered this past week at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, below:

In addition to the fact that it premiered at SXSW of all places, the trailer is notable for including English at all given the lack of an official planned English release. That and the following report seem to indicate that an English-language screening is almost a lock.

According to Anime News Network, the film's lead, Kento Yamazaki, recently visited with Laine Kline, Executive Vice President Business Affairs, Operations & Head of International Production for Sony Pictures International Productions, to promote a potential North American release of the film.

The live-action Kingdom film began production in China last April following the popularity of a previous live-action short to celebrate the franchise's 10th anniversary, and it is currently on track for its big theatrical premiere on April 19th in Japan.

The live-action cast also includes Kanna Hashimoto as Ka Ryo Ten, Ryo Yoshizawa as Ei Sei, Masahiro Takashima as Sho Bun Kun, Shinnosuke Mitsushima as Heki, Masami Nagasawa as Yo Tanwa, Shinnosuke Abe as Bajio, Wataru Ichinose as Tajifu, Takao Osawa as O ki, Jun Kaname as Tou, Kanata Hongo as Seikyo, Renji Ishibashi as Ketsu Shi, Masaya Kato as Shi Shi, Takashi Ukaji as Gi Kou, Yasushi Ami as Rankai, Motoki Fukami as Jo Kan, Jun Hashimoto as Muta, and Tak Sakaguchi as Sa Ji.

Kingdom was created by Yasuhira Hara for Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump in 2006. The story is set in China during the Warring States period and follows two orphans named Shin and Hyou. When the latter dies, Shin finds himself involved in a conspiracy which allows him to join the army. Shin dreams of becoming the world's greatest general, and the hero tries to do so by helping Ei Sei of Qin unify China before its internal conflicts split it apart. The series was adapted into an anime series that ran for two seasons from 2013 to 2014, and has been adapted for an English language release by Funimation.