Warner Brother is planning a Bleach live action movie
So, remember how everyone, including me, was in an uproar over the way that Warner Brothers was handling its Akira live action movie project? Yeah, well, that project seems to have been put on hold, perhaps permanently. However, seemingly determined to create some form of live action, manga/anime based film, Warner Brothers is now working on putting a Bleach live action movie together. The film is being scripted by Dan Mazeau (Wrath of the Titans) and produced/possibly directed by Peter Segal (50 First Dates, Get Smart). It is hoped that WB doesn’t go and fuck this thing up as badly as it did with Akira.
For those that don’t know, Bleach is an insanely popular Japanese manga series, written and drawn by Tite Kubo, which launched its first issue way back in 2002. The story revolves around Ichigo Kurosaki, a young man who has the ability to see dead spirits. This ability eventually leads to him meeting up with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper (aka Grim Reaper), who bestows upon Kurosaki the Soul Reaper powers, allowing Ichigo Kurosaki the ability to defend humans from evil spirits and help the souls of the dead transition to the afterlife. The Bleach anime series, based off of Tite Kubo’s manga, has been running since 2004 and is set to come to a conclusion at the end of this March. As for Kubo’s Bleach manga series, which has sold well over 70 million copies in Japan, it will be entering its final story arch later this year.
So now back to the live action Bleach movie from Warner Brothers. In a quote that does nothing to assure Bleach fans that he has any familiarity with Tite Kubo’s characters, Peter Segal gave the most fluffed up and vague quote he could come up with to Variety regarding his plans for the project, saying…
“”I’ve always been a huge fan of ‘Bleach’ and have great respect for its creator Kubo and the truly original and amazing world he has created in this manga.”
Has Peter Segal “always” been a “huge fan of Bleach”, as he says he has? Maybe. However, even if he is a Bleach fanatic, the reality is that once Hollywood starts trying to take a manga series like Bleach, which is steeped in Japanese culture, and make its something that will sell well to a mainstream American audience, bad things can and will happen. For proof of that, look no further than the bang-up job that was done with Dragon Ball Z and the apparently failed Akira project. While everyone, including myself, certainly hopes that Segal and Warner Brothers nails this thing, I don’t think anyone is willing to bet that they will.
As more news of the Bleach live action film becomes available, I’ll be sure to keep you updated. Until then, feel free to share your thoughts on this Bleach movie in the comments below.
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I’ll see it, just like I suffered through Dragonball: Evolution and the Last Air Bender. Expectations are low.