Code Geass - Coming back with new Sequel & Anime Film Trilogy

Sunrise announced at the Code Geass 10th Anniversary event on Sunday that the franchise is getting its "next project," as well as a three-part compilation anime film series. Below is the visual announcing the next project:

The next project is a sequel titled Code Geass: Fukkatsu no Lelouch (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Resurrection), but the announcement did not reveal the format of theproject. The story takes place several years after Lelouch's "Zero Requiem" plan. Sunday's event featured a teaser promotional video with Kallen, Jeremiah, Suzaku Kururugi, and other characters. The staff also stated [Spoilers, highlight to read: Lelouch himself from the previous anime, and not an alternate dimension version or clone, will be in the new project.]

The three-part film series will recap all 50 episodes of the original Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion series and the Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 sequel series. The cast are re-recording all their lines for the films, and the films will include new scenes. The first film will open in 2017.

Fans who had received tickets and an invitation to Sunday's "Kiseki no Anniversary" event decoded a possible secret code within the invitation that read "Rebirth of the Demon." Bandai's Anime Channel service will stream the event in Japan starting on December 23 at noon, followed by a DVD and Blu-ray Disc release on April 21, 2017. The home video release will include a digest video of the event's stage performance, a picture drama that debuted at the event, a new Fukkatsu! Kiseki no Baba Gekijōshort, and the promotional video that announced the new project. 

Fullmetal Alchemist Trailer (映画 鋼の錬金術師)

The first trailer for the live-action Fullmetal Alchemist film has hit the Internet.

In the trailer, a series of clips are interspersed which introduce audiences to the supernatural world of alchemy. Transmutation circles can be seen drawn about, turning everyday items into all-new materials. Fans are also show Edward Elric preparing his own unique form of alchemy which requires no circles; Instead, his brand of scientific magic comes by clapping his hands together.

 

And, if you stick around until the very end, you can watch as Edward gets confronted by a transmuted beast. There is no action sequence shown since the trailer simply fades to black, but fans can imagine how Edward would take down the monster. He’s even got a bo staff ready to knock the transmutation on its back.

Fans have been anxiously awaiting a trailer for Fullmetal Alchemist ever since the film was announced. Fumihiko Sori will direct the project while Ryosuke Yamada will play Edward Elric. There’s no word yet on who will voice Alphonse, but fans know the character will be mostly seen through CGI.

A slew of side characters have already been cast for the film. Winry Rockbell will be played by Tsubasa Honda while Colonel Roy Mustang has Dean Fujioka. Other notable characters will be seen in the film like Shou Tucker, so fans can prepare to have their hearts broken if the mad scientist inflicts the same fate upon his daughter on the big screen as he did in the anime.

If you are not familiar with Fullmetal Alchemist, then you have plenty of time to watch the anime before its live-action film arrives. The series follows brothers Edward and Alphonse after their mother tragically passes. They attempt to use alchemy to resurrect her, but the attempt takes Edward’s arm and leg - and it takes Alphonse’s entire body. Determined to get their bodies restored, Edward and Alphonse try to become State Alchemists so they can find the location of a powerful item known as the Philosopher’s Stone. But their journey ultimately leads them into a seedy world of government corruption and mass genocide.

Fullmetal Alchemist will debut in Japan next winter.

Hayao Miyazaki : Back from Retirement

Legendary Japanese animator and director Hayao Miyazaki announced he would be retiring; making no more feature-length films in order to concentrate on smaller projects. Well, it turns out no one can keep a good Oscar-winning artist down, and Miyazaki says he’s now coming out of retirement to make one last movie.

According to reports from Kotaku and the Anime News Network, the news was dropped into a Japanese TV special broadcast over the weekend. Appropriately enough, it was titled Hayao Miyazaki: The Man Who Is Not Done. In it, Miyazaki revealed that he’d been dissatisfied with a recent 12-minute CG short film he’d been working on — Boro the Caterpillar — and instead wants to turn it into a full-length film. Although the special did not show Miyazaki getting a green-light from studio bosses, he is seen starting work on animation for the project. We’ll have to wait for official confirmation, but, well, this is Miyazaki we're talking about — if he wants to make a film, presumably it’s going to get done.