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Paranormal Activity 3 & 4 Directors Helm Live-Action Mega Man Film
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
CAPCOM announced on Thursday that Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish, Paranormal Activity 3 and 4) are writing and directing the previously announced film project of its Mega Man game franchise, with Masi Oka (Heroes) producing the project. The film is tentatively titled MEGA MAN. While the previous announcement in 2015 only described the project as a film, the announcement on Thursday specifically described the project as live-action.
CAPCOM noted in the announcement that the film "aims to appeal to a diverse audience," and will be " an adaptation that maintains the world of the Mega Man games, while incorporating the grand production and entertainment value that Hollywood movies are known for."
As previously announced, 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment are developing the project. The 2015 announcement noted that David Ready and Michael Finfer (Planet of the Apes franchise) are overseeing the project, but the announcement on Thursday does not mention them.
Chernin Entertainment is an entertainment company owned by Peter Chernin's The Chernin Group, who previously owned a majority stake in the media distribution site Crunchyroll, before AT&T acquired the Otter Media joint venture that operates Crunchyroll's parent company Ellation in August.
The Mega Man franchise (known as Rock Man in Japan) began in 1987 with CAPCOM's release of the first Mega Man game on the Nintendo Famicom. The franchise has since spawned numerous games, with the latest in the main series, Mega Man 11, released in North America on Tuesday, October 2. It has also spawned multiple manga and anime series and OVAs, as well as an American animated TV series. ADV Films released the Megaman: Upon a Star OVA in 2005. Viz Media released Ryo Takamisaki's MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman.EXE) manga from 2004 to 2008, and also licensed the first two seasons of the anime adaptation, which aired on the Kids WB programming block. Viz also licensed the Megaman Star Force anime.
Cartoon Network recently premiered Mega Man: Fully Charged, a new animated series, on August 5.
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