Are you ready to go Plus Ultra, My Hero Academia fans? Because we have some news that will make you cry tears of joy like Deku watching All Might do literally anything. Legendary has announced that it will produce a live-action feature film adaptation of Shueisha’s mega-popular manga series, My Hero Academia (or Boku no Hero Academia). Created by Kohei Horikoshi in 2014 and published by Shueisha in Weekly Shonen Jump, My Hero Academia has sold over 50 million copies worldwide, generating five seasons of anime as well as an animated feature film, too. This marks the first live-action adaptation of My Hero Academia. And, most recently, reports share that this My Hero Academia movie will head to Netflix. Obi-Wan Kenobi writer Joby Harold will pen the screenplay.
Funimation
The film will be produced by Legendary, with Mary Parent and Alex Garcia overseeing on their behalf, and Ryosuke Yoritomi shepherding the project for Shueisha. Toho will distribute the film in Japan. The film has also found its director in Shinsuke Sato. Sato has directed many anime adaptations over the years. His work includes I Am a Hero, Bleach, Death Note: New Generation, and Death Note: Light Up the New World. He also directed Alice in Borderland for Netflix.
For those not in the know, My Hero Academia is a wildly popular story about a world in which approximately 80% of humanity has developed superhuman abilities of some kind. These powers–known as quirks–have led to the rise of superheroes and supervillains alike. Some powers are great like possessing super-speed or superhuman strength. Others, however, are more questionable in their utility… For example, the power to shoot out a super-sticky tape from one’s elbows or to shoot a laser beam from your belly button.
Our story focuses on Izuku Midoriya, a young boy obsessed with superheroes despite having no quirk of his own. But all of that changes one day after a chance encounter with his idol, the barrel-chested avatar of justice, All-Might. Izuku finally inherits a quirk of his own and enrolls at U.A. High School, one of the most prestigious hero academies in the world. And with that, Izuku’s quest to become the world’s greatest hero truly begins.
The fifth season of My Hero Academia‘s anime adaptation is currently airing. Those wanting to catch up on its episodes can stream the anime online. Like many shounen anime, it is full of epic battles, outsized characters, and unbridled earnestness. It makes for an incredibly addictive combination that will have you watching into the wee hours of the morning. In 2018, the franchise also released an animated feature film, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes. It made more than $5.7 million at the box office and secured a spot on the top 10 highest-grossing domestic anime films of all time, at the time of its release.
In addition to My Hero Academia, Legendary has released several other films based on highly anticipated Japanese properties. In 2019, Legendary launched both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Detective Pikachu, followed by Godzilla vs. Kong in March 2021. In other words, it’s a great time to be a fan of kaiju, tokusatsu, and anime making their way to the big screen.
Originally published on October 24, 2018.
Editor’s note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Pictures.
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