Back in April 2019, two new
Rurouni Kenshin live-action films were announced- a sequel that picked up from where the first three live-action films left off and a prequel which recounts how Kenshin received his cross-shaped scar. The former is based on the final story of the original manga, the
Jinchu arc while the latter appears to be an adaptation of the prequel OVA
Trust & Betrayal.
Filming on both projects ended this past June. That leaves plenty of time to polish the films in post-production as the image below confirms a July 3, 2020 release for
The Final Chapter and a August 7, 2020 release date for
The Beginning Chapter.
Funimation screened all three of the previous live-action adaptations in North America four years ago in 2016- four years after the last film's release in Japan. Hopefully, it won't take quite so long this time around as the limited theatrical run for each film proved popular.
Rumors of the project first surfaced back in 2017, when it was revealed that
Emi Takei was secretly married and pregnant with her first child. This development actually led to a delay in filming.
Complicating matters further was the shocking controversy surrounding manga creator
Nobuhiro Watsuki's possession of child pornography. He
escaped a jail sentence and was free to continue work on the new
Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc (a
continuation of the manga series after a 20-year hiatus) after paying a fine.