Support NeoGAF

[DrForester]

In addition to making your whites whiter...

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-03-22/warner-brothers-in-talks-for-live-action-bleach-film

The Hollywood Reporter newspaper'sHeat Vision blog reports that the American film studio Warner Brothers "is in the process of securing the movie rights to" Tite Kubo's Bleach supernatural action manga series. Director Peter Segal (Get Smart, The Longest Yard, Anger Management) is lining himself up to produce, but not direct. The manga's North American publisher Viz Media and Segal's Callahan Filmworks partner Michael Ewing would also produce the proposed project.

The manga follows a 15-year-old boy named Ichigo Kurosaki who becomes a Soul Reaper — a "Shinigami" or "God of Death" who protects humans from the "Hollow" spirits that prey on them. Shueisha publishes the manga in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan, and Studio Pierrot has been adapting the manga on television and in movie theaters since 2004. The Adult Swim programming block of America's Cartoon Network and Canada's YTV channel have been running the anime.

Warner Brothers has already acquired the rights to adapt Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Death Note supernatural suspense manga, which — like Bleach — is published by Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan and by Viz Media in North America. Along with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company, Warner Brothers is also developing adaptations of Yoshiaki Kawajiri and MADHOUSE's Ninja Scroll action anime film and Katsuhiro Otomo and Kodansha's Akira science-fiction manga. Viz set up an office in Hollywood in 2008 to promote Viz's properties to Hollywood interests.

 

[fudgey_lumpkins]

The series doesn't need live action. There are already 3 anime movies, just release them and market them properly.

Warner Brothers has already acquired the rights to adapt Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Death Note

This too is stupid. There are already 3 Death Note movies, 2 of which are excellent. I highly doubt WB could do better.

 

[Door2Dawn]

Maybe the writing will be better than the manga itself.

 

[Stage On]

Live action? Why bother after the disaster that was Dragon Ball Evolution?

 

[gdt]

The series doesn't need live action. There are already 3 anime movies, just release them and market them properly.

Yes, that would be incredibly profitable.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Live action? Why bother after the disaster that was Dragon Ball Evolution?

Warner Bros. aren't FOX, geez.

 

[Ferrio]

Now you feel like number one
Shining bright for everyone

 

[Kurtofan]

Can't wait for the trailer to have a good laugh.

 

[KamenSenshi]

why must these companies continue to buy up rights to anime/manga for movies then maqke some generic action thing that has nothing to do with the game/anime other than the title? do they really think with the "effort" they put into them that they will have a big hit? whats the last good us made adaptation street fighter the movie from like 1994? i realize this is for an anime and not a game but it's not too different. i anticipate Shia being Ichigo with Rachel Bilson as Rukia.:lol

 

[Drkirby]

The series doesn't need live action. There are already 3 anime movies, just release them and market them properly.

For some reason they instead just did a limited release. Went to see one of them, it wasn't that memorable.

 

[Ferrio]

why must these companies continue to buy up rights to anime/manga for movies then maqke some generic action thing that has nothing to do with the game/anime other than the title? do they really think with the "effort" they put into them that they will have a big hit?

They're not looking for a big hit. They're looking for easy money by making a cheap film that people will come to anyways because it's familiar content.

 

[Firestorm]

Just imagined live action One Piece.
Thank god it's Bleach. Can't kill what's already dead.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Just imagined live action One Piece.

Now imagine it with the Wachowskis directing.

 

[Stat Flow]

Fuck no.

 

[Calcaneus]

The first quarter of the movie will be awesome, everything else will be boring as shit.

 

[KamenSenshi]

maybe not a big hit but man, what a waste of cash to put out a movie just to maybe get a good return. counting dvd sales of course. whats the thought upon hearing about it:"good" like doa or bad like chun li/dragonball? its still weird to hear Goku used towards a "real" person. might help if he fit i guess.

 

[fastford58]

Maybe the Simmons boy should write it. He seems to know a lot about the series.

 

[Angry Grimace]

The series doesn't need live action. There are already 3 anime movies, just release them and market them properly.



This too is stupid. There are already 3 Death Note movies, 2 of which are excellent. I highly doubt WB could do better.

If they were willing to end a movie from the

Spoiler

point at which L died

, it would be better than the anime, since the last half of Death Note was terrible and ruined the excellent first half.

They'd have to change Yagami Light's name to like "Ted Johnson" or something, though. :lol

 

[Lau]

Warner Bros. knows how to deal with their licenses properly. It's still a bit of a miracle that they managed to modernize Batman. I'm sure they can pull this off with the right people behind it, and they have those people.

 

[Hot Coldman]

They'd have to change Yagami Light's name to like "Ted Johnson" or something, though. :lol

Nah, call him Will Light or something. L would have to have a name change.

Also, you people will hate me for this, but get Zack Efron to play Light. It'd be... interesting at the least.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Warner Bros. knows how to deal with their licenses properly. It's still a bit of a miracle that they managed to modernize Batman. I'm sure they can pull this off with the right people behind it, and they have those people.

The problem being, once everyone realizes they're localize it to the point of non-recognition, i.e. all the characters going to be named "Peter," "Bob" and "Lauren" all the fanboys will jump off the bandwagon (not that they're on it anyways) and disappear forever.

Death Note is something that "could" (I say could because I don't think they will do it right) transition well to a US production, whereas, I just don't see it happening with Bleach.

 

[Maleficence]

Maybe the Simmons boy should write it. He seems to know a lot about the series.

"WTF?! How dare WB think they can so blatantly rip off my comic with this "Bleach" movie! If they think they can get away with this, stealing from an artist of my briliiance, they've got another thing coming. My stories and art comes from deep within my soul, copying it in such an offensive way is like a kick in the va...balls. I'm gonna sue sue suuuuuuuuuu they're ass for copyright infringement!!!"

 

[Pimpwerx]

I can't believe this news. Bleach is...so weird. What will they do, make a movie of everything up through the SS arc? The pacing could work for a movie. I could see Turn Back Pendulum being its own movie too, followed by a third that covers Hueco Mundo and this shitty fake Karakura Town arc. But Ichigo would invariably look like a moron, or not himself at all. The spikey hair only works in anime, not real life. Just not sure how this all plays out. His big-ass sword before shikai would look stupid, and even after shikai release, it's still like a hiltless, single-edged claymore. The thing's gonna look ridiculous being wielded by a regular person. PEACE.

 

[KamenSenshi]

yeah they should realize that some things just wont work that well in live action or that they have to change it to the point of being something else. it will take some kinda visual effects & director to make it not look completely stupid.

 

[DarwinMayflower]

why don't they get Takashi Miike to direct a live action bleach? I mean fuck....Sukiyako Western Django was as cool as a live anime as you can get (at least for design), get that shit rolling!

 

[Skittleguy]

Finally, colour-safe bleach that actually works.

 

[JimtotheHum]

Gene Simmon's son wrote this, right?

edit: ah, someone already made the joke- story of my life.

 

[Gilgamesh]

Also, you people will hate me for this, but get Zack Efron to play Light. It'd be... interesting at the least.

I really want Zac Efron to play Light. He looks a lot like Light and the good/evil flip-flopping could show off his acting ability.

17 Again was an awesome movie and Zac Efron is a cool dude.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

wait for James Cameron to set the bar plz.

there's a live action anime/manga boom waiting to happen.

i fear it'll be shit like dragon ball before james cameron shows hollywood how its done.

 

[Four_Chamber]

Yeah not enthused about this but also this unending filler arc has also made me very unenthusiastic about Bleach.

In the wake of Twilight bullshit and all this vampire crap, how funny would it be if they chose the Bounto arc to make a movie? :lol

 

[Dali]

This too is stupid. There are already 3 Death Note movies, 2 of which are excellent. I highly doubt WB could do better.

I must have seen the shitty one then: Terrible acting and Saturday morning cartoon quality cg.

why don't they get Takashi Miike to direct a live action bleach? I mean fuck....Sukiyako Western Django was as cool as a live anime as you can get (at least for design), get that shit rolling!

I just finished watching this today. Good movie. I also liked Crows, but I must admit I haven't read the manga at all. Miike is too much of a mixed bag though. I've only watched half of Crows 2, but so far it's not nearly as good as the first and is way too long.

 

[harSon]

Knowing Hollywood, they're going to bleach this and Ninja Scroll.

 

[Dali]

Knowing Hollywood, they're going to bleach this and Ninja Scroll.

:lol

It's funny because it's true. In the producer's/director's/script-writer's defense, Ichigo doesn't really look like a Japanese person so that is just begging for the army brat in a Japanese school treatment.

 

[Dresden]

Isaac-kun...

 

[Vox-Pop]

OMG OMG OMG OMG BLEACH > all your other manga.

 

[harSon]

:lol

It's funny because it's true. In the producer's/director's/script-writer's defense, Ichigo doesn't really look like a Japanese person so that is just begging for the army brat in a Japanese school treatment.

There's definitely some room to play with Bleach's universe, but that's not the case with Ninja Scroll... That shit better be authentic. I'll be pretty pissed if they manage to cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Olivia Wilde in the film, or some shit like that.

 

[Dali]

There's definitely some room to play with Bleach's universe, but that's not the case with Ninja Scroll... That shit better be authentic. I'll be pretty pissed if they manage to cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Olivia Wilde in the film, or some shit like that.

Keanu Reeves as Jubei
Lucy Lue as Kagero

Ay yo, she been bustin' off knee caps son
Since the age of 11
But fuckin' her enemy to death *ah*
thatvwas her favorite weapon

-RZA "Ode to Oren Ishii"

It even fits for Kagero.

A better fit would probably be the lady that played Kagero in Shinobi though. It's supposed to be the same character anyway, albeit her portrayal in Ninja Scroll vs Basilisk is totally different.

 

[Wiseblade]

Wow, I did not see this coming. Especially not before a Naruto movie which IMO would be far easier for hollywood to put on the big screen.

But hey, it can't be any worse than the live action musical, right?

Spoiler

or the actual manga amirite

 

[Dresden]

Ninja Scroll movie will probably have Tom Cruise as the American thief turned Japanese ninja or something. That, or they'll get some Korean guy, like Rain.

 

[Tamanon]

Now you feel like number one
Shining bright for everyone

Oh man, how hilarious would Number One be during the big action scene of a live-action movie.:lol

 

[Ogni-XR21]

Well the SS arc might actually work as a movie but I honestly doubt they will manage to translate this to real life action without it feeling and looking stupid.

 

[TacticalFox88]

Well the SS arc might actually work as a movie but I honestly doubt they will manage to translate this to real life action without it feeling and looking stupid.

I could see it...but it'd be expensive as FUCK.

 

[Sh1ner]

Cowboy Bebop first JAPAN, than you release the rights for all your other stuff!

 

[Tamanon]

I have no idea whatsoever how they could do Kenpachi justice.

 

[SouthernDragon]

*smirk*

 

[Ducarmel]

Is Warner Bros know for adapting stuff from foreign media, to then releasing a pile of crap?

If not then I'm a little optimistic about this!

 

[Pimpwerx]

WTF? They're doing live-action Ninja Scroll? WTF? The anime movie was awesome. How are they gonna top the fight against the blind swordsman, or the fight against the first guy with the flying blade? PEACE.

 

[harSon]

They did a decent job with Speed Racer... hopefully they get competent directors to helm their films. Speed Racer is probably what the ethnic breakdown is going to look like as well, which wasn't too bad I suppose.

 

[Pandaman]

should be easily to green screen this movie.

 

[Neoriceisgood]

I bet they'll turn Piccolo in a generic looking guy who's barely green and has no antennae at all.