While manga-to-film adaptations are still most often produced in Japan, with the evolution of both animation and live-action adaptations gaining more footing here in the West, more projects reimagining Japanese comics are coming to life courtesy of Hollywood. Soon enough, yet another one will join that list. A new trailer has just dropped for Knights of the Zodiac, a live-action adaptation of the classic 80's mythological fantasy manga and anime called Saint Seiya.
Knights of the Zodiac is being helmed by Tomasz Baginski, the executive producer in several episodes of Netflix's The Witcher, a live-action adaptation of the acclaimed videogame franchise. The script is co-written by Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken, and Kiel Murray. The film is based on the original manga called Saint Seiya, created by Masami Kurumada. The manga spanned into a massive anime series that spanned hundreds of episodes over nearly three decades, up to a CG-style remake in 2019 courtesy of Netflix and Crunchyroll.
Starring in the new film are Mackenyu, who is also starring in the live-action One Piece adaptation, Sean Bean (The Martian), Madison Iseman (Fear of Rain), Diego Tinoco (On My Block), Famke Janssen (The Vault), Nick Stahl (Night Blooms), and Mark Dacascos (John Wick: Chapter 3).
The Guardians of Athena, Reincarnated, and Reimagined
The trailer opens with a young woman named Sienna (Madison Iseman) awakening from a dream in which she envisions the destruction of humankind and the world around her done by the goddess Athena, whom she realizes she is the reincarnation of. She fears for the future and her life, but Alman Kiddo (Sean Bean) promises that she'll be kept safe, and he then sets out to track down those who would be worthy of serving as her guardians. He comes across a young man named Seiya (Mackenyu), a headstrong street kid who knows his way around the fighting ring and uses some rather unusual, mythological powers to upend all his competition. Alman takes notice and recruits him as Sienna's first guardian. Seiya trains with other guardians to properly harness his powers, initially overwhelmed and mystified by them. Eventually, he comes into full power as the Pegasus Knight, easily eliminating all those who stand in his way. This gains the attention of those who would see the death of Athena, namely Guraad (Famke Jannsen).
Knights of the Zodiac lands in theaters everywhere on May 12. The trailer can be viewed below.