For the longest time I’ve wondered, will there be an Attack on Titan live action movie? Like seriously, will there be one? My prayers have been answered by the way of what looks like an authentic, big budget go at it, all thanks to the genius level thinkers at Funimation.
Funimation recently announced that they’ve picked up the theatrical, home entertainment, video on demand and broadcast rights for the Attack on Titan movie across the Americas, and if the trailer I saw is any indication of the kind of attention to detail paid to the film, this is going to rock as hard as the live adaptation of Death Note.
Attack on Titan Part 1 is set to premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 14th, two days after the film’s director appears at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and the actors portraying Eren and Mikasa (Haruma Miura and Kiko Mizuhara, respectively) will be in attendance.
What I find myself liking most about this project is how the cast and crew have risen to the occasion without the need to hand it over to Hollywood; the Attack on Titan live action movie quality is by no means sub-par, and while it’s a little early to tell, Toho Company seems to have gone to great lengths to ensure that the film is as epic as the anime and manga.
How the Attack on Titan live action movie could show Hollywood a lil’ something.
By keeping the characters culturally correct. Do you remember back when there was talk of an Americanized Akira coming out? If you love the story of Kaneda, Tetsuo and company as much as I do then the bastardization of it by white-washing the characters was unthinkable and we all celebrated when news of its cancellation came about.
You can’t underestimate the importance in keeping characters and cultures as they are written because it’s not just the color of the skin that matters; each character has a reason for existing in that specific space and when you start changing things for the sake of box office receptions what you’re really doing is watering down the story and creating a butterfly effect that fanboys like myself clearly see and then through angry rant on the interwebs, clue the casuals in on.
Show the benefits of staying true to the source material. There aren’t that many manga turned anime series that could stand up to the weight of jumping from pen and ink to flesh and blood–Attack on Titan is one of them in my opinion. The reason I believe that is because there are two very important things to note: first, there is an insanely rabid fan base surrounding this work, who are as activated and knowledgeable of the canon as the creators. They go to conventions and cosplay and tirade online about perceived poor choices in character design and plot and the masses, when focused vocally, can move mountains. (Akira director Jaume Collet-Serra found out the hard way.)
Two, with the source material at hand, a lot of the issues that surround other adaptations aren’t as big a problem. You’re not being forced to find a star to attach to the film in order to stay out of developmental hell. Largely, the source material for Attack on Titan requires body types and looks not found in Hollywood. That means you could hire virtual unknowns at lower rates looking to make their chops.
Staying true to the source material also means you wouldn’t have to edit the script to jive with American audiences; those who would watch the movie on its own accord are already familiar with subtitling. Let’s be completely honest here: casuals shouldn’t be the prime target here; the story is far too complex (which is why this will be a multi-part film) to wrap up in an hour and a half and theaters wouldn’t be the best way to make money anyway. Blu Ray sales are the obvious choice.
The Attack on Titan live movie release date hasn’t been announced for widespread screenings but supposedly fans are looking at an August 2015 drop. I can only hope.
