‘One-Punch Man’ Is Barreling Towards Live-Action, Complete With ‘Rick and Morty’ DNA on Board

My Hero Academia may be the fan-favorite superhero anime of the moment, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a show in that vein quite as creative as One-Punch Man, ONE’s cheeky masterclass of overpowered main characters done right.

And with the world having had all the time in the world to fall in love with Saitama and company, now is as good a time as ever to bring the blank-faced superhero to big screens in live-action. The twist? It’s being developed under the hand of Sony’s Columbia Pictures rather than a Japanese studio, which is a bold strategy no matter what other thoughts you may have on it.

One thing is for sure, One-Punch Man‘s live-action film already has quite the team behind it.

What is One-Punch Man about?

No plot details have been released just yet, but it’s beyond obvious that One-Punch Man will adapt the story from the manga and anime into film form, which is sure to be its most unique manifestation yet given the challenges of translating episodic material into a lone feature. Exactly how far into the manga the film will adapt—composites, exclusions, and other creative liberties notwithstanding—also isn’t clear.

Who stars in One-Punch Man?

No casting announcements have been made just yet, but we know that Avi and Ari Arad, of Marvel fame, are serving as producers on the popular superhero adaptation; go figure. Justin Lin, meanwhile, will co-produce and direct the film; an incredibly solid choice considering that his work on the Fast & Furious franchise means he’s no stranger to bombastic hilarity. Moreover, he’s done some work on Community in the past, and considering Dan Harmon has been recruited to rewrite the script along with fellow Rick and Morty scribe Heather Anne Campbell, One-Punch Man looks to be cooking something supremely curious here.

When will One-Punch Man be released?

Given that Harmon and Campbell are still busy with script rewrites, we won’t have a release date announcement for quite some time, since a live-action One-Punch Man movie is no straightforward filming task (a task that, again, hasn’t begun yet). Nevertheless, be sure to swing back in the future for any updates on this front.

(featured image: Madhouse)