Live-Action 'Attack On Titan' Part 1 Hits Theaters In The U.S. On Sept. 30

Jan Dizon, Tech Times 15 August 2015, 07:08 am

U.S. fans of the manga Attack on Titan won't have to wait much longer for the live-action movie of the larger-than-life story that sold more than 50 million print copies to come to American shores. As previously announced, FUNimation secured the rights to screen the films Attack on Titan 1 and 2, and now the company has set the official theatrical release dates.

Attack on Titan Part 1 will screen on Sept. 30, with Part 2 will follow not too long after on Oct. 20.

Fans have been clamouring to watch the movie ever since it opened to rave reviews during its world premiere. According to Gen Fukunaga, CEO and president of FUNimation Entertainment, the film is most certainly going to make an impression on the manga's fans all over North America.

"Fan reaction to Attack on Titan was extremely positive at the world premiere and we're pleased to be able to announce dates for the theatrical releases in September and October. Attack on Titan is a worldwide phenomenon and we are excited to bring the live action movies to not only fans of the manga and anime but also horror fans as well from across the U.S. and Canada," he says in a press release.

Attack on Titan follows the lives of Eren Jaeger, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their friend Armin Arlert. The three live in one of the last remaining towns on Earth, all of which are protected by enormous walls to shield them from man-eating giants they call Titans.

However, the wall of their town is breached for the first time in a hundred years. Devastated and their lives forever changed by the catastrophe, they decide to join the Survey Corps, an elite group of soldiers who fight the Titans outside the safety of the walls to save the last of mankind.

The movie diverges from the source material, most notably with the ommision of one of the main characters in the manga, Levi. The setting of the live-action movie as well is relocated from Europe to Japan where all the characters are Japanese, rather than having Mikasa as the last remaining Asian (well, half-Asian) alive on earth.

Despite these changes, Hajime Isayama, creator of the manga, himself, who was involved in the creation of the movie with director Shinji Higuchi at its helm, encourages fans to have a look at the U.S. theatrical trailer which highlight many of the key moments in the new movie, including a look at the colossal Titans made for the big screen.