As anime continues to grow in popularity around the world, we're starting to see more and more studios beginning to adapt some of the industry's best work. Following the successful live-action adaptations of Netflix's One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender, it seems that Warner Bros. is now looking to cash in on another popular anime.
According to reliable industry insider DanielRPK, Warner Bros. Pictures is looking to develop a live-action movie based on the Bleach manga/anime. The studio is currently searching for a writer and director for the film.
Written and illustrated by Tite Kubo, the Bleach manga series was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from August 2001 to August 2016. The series spawned a major media franchise that includes an anime television series adaptation by studio Pierrot that aired from 2004 to 2012.
Studio Pierrot returned with a sequel anime series, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, which would adapt the manga's final story arc over four cours. The first cours, titled The Blood Warfare, aired from October 2022 to December 2022, followed by the second cours, The Separation, from July to September 2023. The third cours, The Conflict, is scheduled to premiere in October.
While this may seem like Warner Bros. Pictures is trying to chase a trend of adapting successful manga/anime works, this actually isn't the first Bleach adaptation. Warner Bros. actually produced a live-action Bleach film that was premiered in theaters across Japan back in July 2018 and later released worldwide on Netflix.
Directed by Shinsuke Sato, the 2018 live-action movie adapted the first major arc of the manga. The film actually sits at an impressive 71% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 75% Popcornmeter (formerly audience score). While it received generally favorable reviews, it didn't achieve the level of success we've seen with today's live-action anime adaptations.
Although the final moments of the film teased a possible sequel, nothing came of it. Now six years later, it seems Warner Bros. wants to take another crack at it. Bleach follows the adventures of teenager Ichigo Kurosaki, who obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper — a death personification similar to a Grim Reaper — from another Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki. With his new powers, he takes on the responsibility of defending humans from evil spirits.
In the meantime, fans are gearing up for the premiere of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 - The Conflict. The third cours is scheduled to debut in Japan on October 5th, but we still don't have a global release date. Both of the previous two seasons are available to stream in the United States on Hulu with English subs and dubs, courtesy of Viz Media.