When I’m not writing, I teach, and a lot of my students call me the “cool teacher” because I watch anime. Well, when they ask me what my favorite anime is, I usually spout off some ‘80s and ‘90s anime because I’m old. Since they’re nice, they always humor me and say, “Oh, yeah. I’ve seen Dragon Ball Z” Or “I’ve heard of Sailor Moon.” But the kids these days have their own anime, and the two most popular have got to be Demon Slayer, and My Hero Academia. Well, I have good news for all the My Hero Academia fans out there since there is going to be a My Hero Academia live-action movie.
For those who know nothing about My Hero Academia, the series is about a world where almost everybody has superpowers, which are called “Quirks”. Well, our hero, Izuku Midoriya, who’s nicknamed “Deku” is actually born without any quirks. But after saving his childhood friend from a villain, he attracts the attention of the hero, All Might, who grants Izuku his power after being injured. All Might also helps Deku get into a school for super heroes in training, so think the recent We Can Be Heroes mixed with Sky High and you’re not too far off.
But what do we know right now about the upcoming, live-action movie? Well, you’re about to find out. Because “Dreams can become reality!”
Shinsuke Sato Will Be Directing
If you like live-action anime, then you probably already know who Shinsuke Sato is, as some of the films in his filmography include Bleach, Death Note: Light Up the New World, and Kingdom. Well, The Hollywood Reporter recently revealed that Shinsuke Sato will be directing the live-action My Hero Academia movie, and I think this is great news. The live-action version of Bleach was actually pretty good, and I’m glad that somebody with a pedigree for translating the world of anime to the big screen will be handling this movie. We still don’t know who will be acting in the film and whether it will be American actors or Japanese (Please be Japanese), but at least we know that we’re getting a Japanese director, so that’s exciting.
The Film Will Be In English
Now, I just mentioned how we don’t know if we’ll have American or Japanese actors, but we do know that the film will be in English. According to the same Hollywood Reporter article, My Hero Academia will be the director’s first English-Language movie. Now, be this as it may, I would still love to see Japanese-American actors fill in a majority of the roles here. Deku, of course, but especially All Might, who is the hero of Japan. If we’re doing this, then I really, really don’t want this to be a Ghost in the Shell or The Last Airbender situation where whitewashing becomes a major issue. Because that wouldn’t be cool.
Legendary Will Be Producing the Film
Legendary is well known for its MonsterVerse movies, but did you know the studio also produced Pokemon: Detective Pikachu? This gives me a lot of hope, since Detective Pikachu is one of the best video game/anime live-action movies ever made, and according to Yahoo.com, Legendary will also be producing My Hero Academia’s live-action film, so I’m excited.
The Movie Has Been In Development Since 2018
You may have actually known that My Hero Academia was getting a live-action movie since the news has been out there for quite some time. In fact, according to an article from Games Radar, the film has been in development since 2018, and just now seems to really be getting on track since it acquired its director. Now, honestly, I think now is as good a time as ever for a live-action movie since I’d heard of My Hero Academia back in 2018. But I think it’s really exploded in popularity since then as I now see it all over the place. So, maybe the wait was a good thing.
This Will Be The First Live-Action My Hero Academia Movie, But Possibly The Fourth Overall MHA Movie
Now, this statement might not be true depending on when the My Hero Academia live-action movie eventually comes out, but as of right now, this live-action version would be the fourth overall movie since the series debuted in 2016. All the other previous movies have been animated. The first movie, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, came out in 2018 in Japan and had a limited release in the United States and Canada. Then, you had My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising in 2019, and a North American release in 2020. And finally, the most recent and third film, My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission just recently came out in Japan on August 6, 2021. Some even speculate that we could be looking at an October release date for it to come stateside. So, the live-action movie might or might not be the fourth overall MHA film, but that could always change given the rapid-fire way these movies are coming out in animation.
There Is Currently No Release Date
And lastly, this goes to my previous point, but there is no release date for the My Hero Academia live-action movie. This is why I think that there could be several more animated movies before we get this eventual live-action version of the series. In fact, we really only know who will be directing the film at this point. We don’t know the cast, don’t know if it will take place in Japan or in America, and don’t know what the overall storyline will be. We assume that it will be an origin story for Deku and we’ll learn all about the world of My Hero Academia, but whether it will follow any of the arcs from the anime or manga, we still have no idea. Only time will tell.
Seriously, My Hero Academia is just crazy big right now. And if you’ve never seen it before, you can catch all five seasons, which is 195 episodes, on Hulu. But what do you think? Are you excited at the prospect of a live-action My Hero Academia movie? Leave your thoughts in the poll below. And if you’re interested 2021 movies or even 2022 movies, make sure to stop by often.
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