In a development that has historically sounded the death knell for live-action adaptations of Japanese properties, Netflix has acquired the streaming rights to Legendary Entertainment’s upcoming take on Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia.
First announced by Variety on December 12th, Netflix’s purchase of the upcoming film will see Hollywood’s take on Deku, Bakugo, and All-Might skip theaters and premiere exclusively on the streaming service (though the film will still receive a theatrical run in Japan courtesy of Toho Co. Ltd.).
Alongside this distribution update, it was also revealed that the film’s screenplay will be penned by writer Joby Harold, who most recently rewrote Kathleen Kennedy’s initial Obi-Wan Kenobi scripts and served as the Disney Plus series’ showrunner.
In addition to overseeing the canon-breaking adventures of the Jedi Master, Harold’s credits also include stints as co-writing the stories for such productions as Warner Bros. Discovery’s upcoming The Flash, Universal Pictures’ upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Netflix’s previous collaboration with Zack Snyder, Army of the Dead.
Notably, Harold planned work on the My Hero Academia film will mark his second team-up with Legendary Entertainment, as the writer is also currently serving as an executive producer on the studio’s upcoming Godzilla and the Titans series for Apple TV+.
Harold’s script will in turn be brought to life, as previously announced, by storied Japanese director Shinsuke Sato.
Best known for having directed a myriad of live-action manga adaptations for Japanese audiences, including I Am A Hero, Inuyashiki, Kingdom, Gantz, and Death Note, Sato’s work tackling Horikoshi’s popular shonen manga will mark his official English-language debut.
Overseeing Harold and Sato’s work will be producers Alex Garcia (Krampus) and Mary Parent (Pacific Rim) – the latter apparently replacing formerly attached producer Jay Ashenfelter (Godzilla vs. Kong) – alongside Ryosuke Yoritomi, a representative for My Hero Academia‘s publisher Shueisha.
As of writing, neither a potential release date nor any casting details have been revealed by Legendary Entertainment.
