Maomao is headed to the big screen! The Apothecary Diaries: The Deceased Empress' Treasure, the franchise's first feature film, opens in Japanese theaters on December 11th, and the first trailer just dropped alongside the title and new cast details.
According to Anime News Network the film tells a completely original story, with a draft penned by novel author Natsu Hyuga herself. It's new material built specifically for theaters.
The premise has all the right ingredients. Jinshi is ordered to escort the remains of a concubine who died in the rear palace five years ago back to her southern homeland, except her body is unnaturally well-preserved, "as if merely sleeping." Maomao tags along, and the road leads to a flourishing water city, pirates, hidden treasure, and a mystery surrounding the dead empress herself.
Series director Norihiro Naganuma returns to direct at TOHO animation STUDIO and OLM, with Akinori Fudesaka assisting and Yukiko Nakatani back on character designs. Aoi Yuki and Takeo Otsuka reprise Maomao and Jinshi, and Mariya Ise joins the cast as Mu Qing, a mysterious boy the staff says "holds the key to the story."
The film is one half of a very busy stretch for the franchise. Season 3 premieres its first cour in October 2026, with the second cour following in April 2027, and Crunchyroll confirmed that it's streaming the new season during Anime Expo this past weekend.
Line it all up and you get new Apothecary Diaries content in October, December, and April. Not a bad year!
There's no international release date for the film yet. Japan gets it December 11th, and overseas plans are still to be announced. With the series streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix worldwide, I can't imagine it stays Japan-only for long.
If you're wondering why this franchise earned a movie, the numbers make the case all by themselves. The series has over 45 million copies in circulation as of November 2025. The manga's sixteenth volume was the fifth best-selling volume in Japan for the first half of 2026 with over 474,000 copies sold. And Season 2 took home five trophies at this year's Crunchyroll Anime Awards, including Best Drama, plus a second straight Best Voice Artist win for Aoi Yuki.
The film and Season 3 were announced together at the Season 2 wrap-up last October, and this trailer is the first official look at either.
Does an all-new story from the original author excite you? Would you rather have a straight arc adaptation? Share your thoughts below!
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