The Japanese anime TV series Tiger & Bunny is going to get a live-action film. Donald Tang's Global Road Entertainment will be partnering with Bandai Namco Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Weed Road Pictures on the feature film. It is part of a plan by the company to spend $1 billion on productions over the course of the next three years.
The film will be written by Ellen Shanman and produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Erica Huggins, Bandai Namco Pictures’ Masayuki Ozaki and Weed Road Pictures’ Akiva Goldsman. It was created by Bandai Namco Pictures in 2011 as both a manga and anime series, which ended with a live-viewing event at movie theaters. Two animated features were released after the series ended, they were Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning in 2012, and Tiger & Bunny: The Rising in 2014.
The story is set in a near-futuristic city called Stern Bild, where superheroes fight crime on a popular TV show. Old school veteran Tiger, who is challenged by younger and more dashing rival Bunny, must team up when a super-powered terrorist begins causing havoc.
Lynn Harris, Global Road Entertainment’s President of Worldwide Production, said “We are thrilled to partner with Imagine, Bandai Namco and Weed Road on Tiger & Bunny. Mr. Ozaki and his team’s globally recognized story and beloved characters provide us with the potential to not only produce a feature film that will appeal to the masses, but also generate a fully developed franchise across the theatrical, television and digital entertainment spaces.”
Ozaki added, “After a long voyage, we have finally reached new ground. We are truly honored to be able to create the future with our collaborative partner whom we wholeheartedly trust. We are determined to live up to our supporters’ and fans’ expectations and bring this exciting project to life.”
“Ron, Brian and I are excited to be partnering with Global Road Entertainment and continuing our relationship with Lynn Harris and Rob Friedman to bring the live action feature film based on the beloved series Tiger & Bunny to fans and audiences around the world,” added Erica Huggins, President of Imagine Entertainment.