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Deadline Site: Former Fast & Furious Director Justin Lin to Helm Live-Action One-Punch Man Film
posted on by Egan Loo
The entertainment industry news website Deadline reported on Monday that Sony Pictures is setting up Justin Lin to direct a live-action film adaptation of ONE and Yūsuke Murata's One-Punch Man manga. Lin would also serve as a producer and collaborate on the screenplay's rewrite before starting production by the end of this year. Lin had just exited the Fast and Furious franchise earlier this year.
Another entertainment news website, Variety, had reported on Sony's acquisition of the adaptation rights from Shueisha in April 2020 and reported that Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner (Venom, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle films) are writing the script. Arad Productions' Avi Arad and Ari Arad (Spider-Man and X-Men film franchise) are producing the film.
Yūsuke Murata and ONE launched the One-Punch Man manga on Shueisha's free "Tonari no Young Jump" website in 2012. The series is a remake of ONE's original web manga of the same name. Viz Media is releasing the series digitally in its Weekly Shonen Jump manga anthology, and is also releasing the series in print.
Viz Media describes the story of the manga's first volume:
Every time a promising villain appears, Saitama beats the snot out of 'em with one punch! Can he finally find an opponent who can go toe-to-toe with him and give his life some meaning? Or is he doomed to a life of superpowered boredom?
The manga inspired a television anime, and the first season aired in Japan from October to December 2015. Viz Media and Daisuki both streamed the series outside of Japan as it aired. The anime premiered with an English dub on Adult Swim's Toonami block in July 2016. Viz Media released the first season on home video in North America.
The new season began with a television special in April 2019, then the first episode premiered one week later. Viz Media acquired the master license to the second anime season, including digital streaming, TV broadcast, electronic sell-through, home media, and merchandising rights for North America, Latin America, and Oceania. The company streamed the show as a Hulu exclusive. Crunchyroll streamed the series in Europe, excluding French- and German-speaking Europe, and in the Middle East and North Africa.
Source: Deadline (Mike Fleming Jr.)
