Knights of The Zodiac Reveals Official Synopsis
Sony Pictures is looking to gain more of a foothold in the world of live-action anime adaptations with this summer's Knights of the Zodiac: The Beginning. With the movie studio hoping to bring Saitama from One-Punch Man fame to life via a live-action film, Saint Seiya will beat this to the punch thanks to its April 28th release date in Japan and subsequent May 12th release in North America. Now, Sony has shared an official description of the adaptation that assembles the likes of Mackenyu, Nich Stahl, Sean Bean, and Famke Janssen to expand on the anime world.
Knights of the Zodiac, or Saint Seiya, has had a long history in the anime world thanks to its debut in 1986 in Weekly Shonen Jump. Since its manga debut, Knights of the Zodiac has received more than a few anime episodes to weave its battle-heavy story, though a Knights of the Zodiac movie has yet to be released until this year. The latest major anime project for the series was the Netflix original series, Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya, which ran for twenty-four episodes over two seasons.
What is Knights Of The Zodiac?
Here's how Sony Pictures described the upcoming project that is hoping to give fans another worthy live-action anime adaptation, "Produced by Toei Animation and based on the international anime sensation, Knights of the Zodiac brings the Saint Seiya saga to the big screen in live-action for the first time. Seiya (Mackenyu), a headstrong street teen, spends his time fighting for cash while he searches for his abducted sister. When one of his fights unwittingly taps into mystical powers he never knew he had, Seiya finds himself thrust into a world of warring saints, ancient magical training and a reincarnated goddess who needs his protection. If he's to survive, he will need to embrace his destiny and sacrifice everything to take his rightful place among the Knights of the Zodiac."
Ironically enough, the star of this new film, Mackenyu, is something of a veteran when it comes to bringing anime characters to the real world. Previously, he played a villain in the Rurouni Kenshin live-action films while also taking on the role of Scar in the Fullmetal Alchemist trilogy of movies. Later this year, the actor will be taking on the role of Roronoa Zoro in Netflix's live-action One Piece series, rounding out his resume quite nicely.
Via Press Release