News

Live-Action Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac Film Unveils Cast, Staff

The Hollywood Reporter posted the cast and staff for the live-action film of Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya manga on Tuesday. It also noted that the project, titled Knights of the Zodiac, is "coming off of wrapping production" in Hungary and Croatia.

The film stars Mackenyu (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Final, live-action Chihayafuru films, center in photographs above), Madison Iseman (Jumanji sequels, I Know What You Did Last Summer television series, third from left), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Snowpiercer series, second from left), Famke Janssen (X-Men, Taken, The Vault, second from right), Nick Stahl (Fear the Walking Dead, far left), Diego Tinoco (On My Block, third from right), and Mark Dacascos (John Wick: Parebellum, Hawaii Five-O, Crying Freeman, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, Iron Chef America, far right).

Polish animator and special effects creator Tomasz Baginski (Academy Award-nominated short animation "Katedra," The Witcher) is directing for Toei with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. Andy Cheng (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is the stunt coordinator and fight coordinator. Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken (10 Cloverfield Lane) are the latest writers of the film script. Toei is distributing in Japan, and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions is distributing outside Japan except in China and the Middle East.

The Hollywood Reporter describs the film's story:

In what is labeled an origin story, Mackenyu is starring as Seiya, a street orphan and the title hero of the franchise. When a mystical energy known as Cosmo awakens in him, Seiya embarks on a journey to conquer the ancient Greek armor of Pegasus and choose his side in a preternatural battle for the fate of Sienna (Iseman), a young girl who struggles to control her godly powers.

Bean plays a mentor named Alman Kiddo, a man who recruits Seiya into the Knights order, which he founded when he discovered the reincarnated goddess. Tinoco is a man hired to kill the vulnerable goddess.

Kurumada published the original Saint Seiya manga from 1986 to 1990. The manga has inspired a number of television anime, original video anime projects, anime films, and spinoff manga. The original series has 35 million copies in print. The Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō spinoff manga also has an anime.

Viz Media published the original manga in English under the title Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac. ADV Films released Toei Animation's anime adaptation with an English dub under the title Knights of the Zodiac, and later released it unedited under the title Saint Seiya. New Video Group later also released the series on DVD.

Update: Photographs of expanded cast roster added via Comic Natalie

Sources: Eiga.com, The Hollywood Reporter (Borys Kit) via M.H. Williams