Kurumada Masami’s “Saint Seiya” will be getting a Hollywood live-action film titled “Knights of the Zodiac” produced by Toei Animation and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.

For those unfamiliar, “Saint Seiya” was a manga-turned-anime following the story of a band of brave heroes who are sworn to protect the reincarnation of the Greek goddess, Athena.

Tomasz Baginski, the Polish animator and special effects wiz who has worked on The Witcher, is directing the movie that Toei is producing.

The project had been in development for years and suffered several production delays before finally shooting this year. Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken (10 Cloverfield Lane) wrote the most recent drafts.

The Japanese-American actor Mackenyu will be the leading actor “Pegasus Seiya” (Seiya), Madison Iseman will star in Saori (Sienna), Sean Bean is the recruiter of the Knights, and Seiya’s mentor Alman Kiddo; other actors include Famke Janssen, Nick Stahl, Diego Tinoco, and Mark Dacascos Et al.

The filming took place in Hungary and Croatia. According to production news, the shooting has already concluded.

Toei will be responsible for distribution in Japan, while Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions will distribute the film everywhere else, except for China and Middle East countries.

While there is no confirmed release date, some fans believe that the “Saint Seiya” live-action movie won’t come out until 2023.

As is pretty typical with all announcements pertaining to live-action adaptations, anime fans remain skeptical about how well this version of “Saint Seiya” will turn out.

Source: Animation Business Info