Just a few days after securing the rights to My Hero Academia, Netflix has another manga adaptation in the works. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming service is currently developing a live-action take on City Hunter, based on the manga series launched by writer/artist Tsukasa Hojo in 1985. Yuichi Sato will direct the movie, which has already cast Japanese actor Ryohei Suzuki to star as protagonist Ryo Saeba.
Hojo’s original story followed the adventures of Saeba, a womanizing private detective who ran his own clandestine business in Tokyo. The series later became an anime series in the early ‘90s, eventually giving way to a series of animated films. Live-action movies based on the manga have also been released in France and Hong Kong. In fact, the latter even starred Jackie Chan in the lead role. But the Netflix film, which has apparently been in development for a decade, will be the first time that the series has been adapted in Japan.
Tatsuro Mishima, a writer on Netflix’s live-action Yu Yu Hakusho series, is penning the script for City Hunter. Fans can expect “a modern-day updated version” of Hojo’s work that primarily takes place in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward. The original manga often showed Saeba working alongside his partner, Hideyuki Makimura. But this incarnation opens with Makimura getting killed, forcing Ryo and his partner’s sister, Kaori, to form a new team.
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In his native country, Suzuki is best known for appearing in Japanese TV shows like Tokyo MER and Segodon. As he tells it, City Hunter will “aim to strike the right balance between realism and fantasy, as well as tones from the 80s and today.”
“I am thrilled to be playing Ryo Saeba and feel a great deal of responsibility to portray this beloved, legendary character created by Tsukasa Hojo,” said Suzuki in a new statement. “I cannot wait for both existing fans as well as newcomers around the world to fall in love with Ryo Saeba and his fun, action-packed adventures around modern-day Tokyo.”
Hojo added, “I always hoped the lead would be played by someone who really liked City Hunter and thanks to Ryohei’s unwavering passion, the time has finally come. Thanks to the dedicated cast and crew, I’m looking forward to the title being brought to screen, with a fresh and realistic perspective that isn’t strictly bound to the original manga.”
City Hunter will premiere on Netflix sometime in 2024.
Are you excited to see what Netflix has planned for the film? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Viewing: City Hunter Season 1 Set 1
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