Bleach Manga’s Live-Action Movie Slated for 2018

This year’s 38th issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is revealing on Monday that Tite Kubo’s Bleach manga is getting a live-action film adaptation that will open in Japan in 2018. Sōta Fukushi (live-action Toshokan Sensō/Library Wars’ Hikaru Tezuka, live-action Strobe Edge’s Ren Ichinose, live-action Kami-sama no Iu Toori’s Shun Takahata) will star in the film as Ichigo Kurosaki, and Shinsuke Sato(live-action Gantz, Gantz II: Perfect Answer films, Oblivion Island anime film) is directing the film.

Shueisha is publishing Bleach’s final chapter in the 38th issue on Monday. The combined 36th-37th issue had teased on August 8 that the 38th issue would have an “important announcement” for Bleach.

Bleach entered its final story arc in February 2012. The manga’s 73rd volume then announced that the 74th volume will be the final volume.

Kubo launched the manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2001, andShueisha published the manga’s 73rd volume on July 4. Viz Media is publishing the manga in North America digitally in English as new chapters are published in Japan. The company is also publishing the manga in print and published the 67th volume on July 5.

The manga inspired a television anime adaptation that ran for 366 episodes from 2004 to 2012. Viz Mediaobtained the television and home video rights to the anime in 2006. The series premiered with an English dub onCartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block that same year, and eventually aired all the episodes by 2014.Viz Media announced in June that it will release the television anime series on Blu-ray Disc, and the first volume shipped on July 19.

The manga has also inspired four anime films, a series of novels, and several video games. A series of stage musical adaptations launched in 2005, with the latest entry finishing its run on August 4.