The eerie Science Fiction, Horror world of parasites taking over humans will be coming to the big screen, hopefully in full Imax glory. Iwaki Hitoshi’s 1990 Manga Parasyte (Kiseijuu) will adapted into two separate films that will be releasing in Japanese cinemas in late 2014 and 2015. It has also been announced that there will be an anime adaptation, but not further information has been announced.
The two movies will be produced by Japanese movie giant Toho. The films will be directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who directed the live action Space Battleship Yamato film in 2010. Ryota Kosawa, the screenwriter of The Detective Is in the Bar and Always: Sunset on Third Street, has been confirmed to be working on the films as well. The main members of the cast has been confirmed:
- Ai Hashimoto (live action Another film) will portray Shinichi’s friend Satomi Murano
- Shota Sometani (live action TV xxxHOLiC series) will be starring as Shinichi Izumi
- Eri Fukatsu (from the movie Onnanoko Monogatari) will play Ryouko Tamiya
It was reported that there would be a Hollywood film based on Parasyte back in 2005, when New Line Cinemas acquired the rights to the film. But their rights have soon expired after no news of the film surfaced since. Toho ultimately acquired the rights after s large bidding war between many Japanese Studios last year. The Hollywood film would’ve been directed by Takashi Shimizu, who had directed the popular Grudge films.
Parasyte, known as Kiseijuu in Japan, is a manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki that serialized from 1990 to 1995 in Kodansha’s Afternoon magazine. The manga was very popular and well received, selling over 11 million copies to date, with a total of 10 volumes. The manga also won the Kodansha Manga Award in 1993. Tokyopop, known as MixxZine in the 1990s, published the manga in North America until 2005, where Del Rey Manga picked up publishing rights.
Here is a synopsis of the manga from MAL:
They arrive in silence and darkness. They descend from the skies. They have a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere. They are parasites, alien creatures who must invade–and take control of–a human host to survive. And once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose: monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, creatures with blades for hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret–except an ordinary high school student. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?
The Parasyte live action films will be split up into two, with the first part scheduled to release in December this year in Japan. The second film will be out in late 2015. The anime adaptation, while announced, has no further information regarding its release and production.
Source Article – The Asahi Shimbun
“Parasyte”, “Kiseijuu”, images and all associated brands and titles © 2014 Hitoshi Iwaaki and Toho Co., ltd.