One-Punch Man to Get Live-Action Film from Sony Pictures
If you need all the One-Punch Man in your life, then you better sit down. ComicBook.com has [...]
If you need all the One-Punch Man in your life, then you better sit down. ComicBook.com has learned that a Hollywood live-action adaptation of the hit series is in the works. Sony Pictures is said to be adapting the title into a film with the writers of Venom, leaving the scribes to introduce the world to Saitama in a brand-new way.
Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner have been given the duty of writing the script for One-Punch Man. Avi Arad and Air Arad of Arad Productions will oversee production on the project which is still in development.
Fans will know the writers from their work on two previous blockbusters. Rosenberg and Pinkner wrote the script for Jumanji: The Next Level as well as Venom. Arad Productions has kept busy with its work on Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the X-Men movies, so the company is no stranger to superheroes. Obviously, that is going to work in favor of One-Punch Man given its take on superheroes, but the Japanese manga-turned-anime has a very different view of the genre.
Created by ONE back in 2009, One-Punch Man began as a web-comic following the story of a hero named Saitama. The bald crusader looks like your average guy, but he happens to be the strongest person in the world. With the ability to take out any foe with a single punch, Saitama hopes to become superhero worth admiring, but he cares little for ego. What the man really wants is to find a villain who is strong enough to finally challenge him, so Saitama spends his time training a protege named Genos in the meantime.
The series became an international hit after One-Punch Man was given a first season by Madhouse as its animation was a spectacle in and of itself. The manga continues to wow with artist Yusuke Murata taking control of much of the story, but the anime did hit a snag this past year. Season two of the anime was passed off to J.C. Staff who failed to impress fans thanks to its lackluster animation. Now, fans are left wondering about a third season, but this live-action announcement has certainly taken their mind off the anime for awhile.
There is no word on when this project will come to fruition, but it is one of several anime adaptations in the work. Hollywood has big plans for Cowboy Bebop and One Piece over on Netflix while film adaptations for Naruto continue to be tweaked. At one point, Akira was also in the pipeline with director Taika Waititi overseeing the project, but that has since fallen apart.
What do you make of this new announcement? Should One-Punch Man pursue such an adaptation? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!