When will ‘Fullmetal Alchemist 2’ release? Will it be on streaming?
More importantly: will it be watchable?
Ah, yes, the trend of turning beloved animation into less-beloved live action. In this day and age, it has become a tradition on both sides of the Pacific. In 2017, it was time for Hiromu Arakawa’s near-holy (at least, to me) Fullmetal Alchemist to get the live-action treatment. The result was… eh. Personally, I found their handling of the Elric brother’s relationship mangled at best. Not to mention that the plot meanderingly strayed quite far from its source material. But, of course, it’s getting sequels. In fact, it’s getting two sequels this year. And it looks like they’ll maybe follow the original plot!
The two new films are called Hagane no Renkinjitsushi: Kanketsu-hen – Fukushuusha Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Chapters – The Avenger Scar) and Hagane no Renkinjitsushi: Kanketsu-hen – Saigo no Rensei (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Chapters – The Last Transmutation). The former appears to focus on the Elrics’ conflict with Scar and, likely, the revelations about the civil war in Ishvala, which is essentially the manga’s second act. The latter will deal with the ending, Father and all.
Most of the cast from the first film is returning, including Hey! Say! JUMP!’s Ryosuke Yamada as Edward. Definitely the most exciting point for me is the appearance of my absolute favorite character, Olivier Mira Armstrong. But a bunch of other key characters from the franchise who didn’t make it into the first film make strong cameos in this trailer. Izumi Curtis, the series’ other GOAT! Van Hohenheim, the series’ second-worst dad! The whole Xing crew! And also… like… Scar! How was Scar not in the first film?!
Avenger Scar will release in Japan on May 20, with The Last Transmutation following up on June 24. No release dates have been announced for English-speaking audiences yet. But here’s my very educated guess: just like with the first film, Netflix is going to gobble up the exclusive rights to distribute these two films internationally. The first film had a three-month delay between its Japanese release and its Netflix release. So, if I’m right, these films will likely land on Netflix in late August and September.
The first film was released with the “Netflix Original Film” moniker, but Netflix didn’t stand at the helm of film in the same way as, say, the live-action One Piece series. So, for once, they’re not who you should point fingers at if these new films are … not good. Instead, point them at Warner Bros. Japan.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
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