Eiichiro Oda's "One Piece" manga will reportedly get its own live-action film. On June 16, Thursday, China's Shanghai Minghuan Investment announced its plans to bring the first live-action "One Piece" movie to life.
The exciting news came to light when the said Chinese company announced that, through a press release hosted by Business Wire, they have acquired the copyright of the immensely popular Japanese manga for 1.6 billion yen (approximately $15.1 million). The publication notes that the deal will seemingly grant the company the privilege to develop a live-action film, television series, and other derivatives based on the "One Piece" manga.
The press statement further reveals that Japanese actor Masataka Kubota, who gained widespread fame with "K-tai Investigator 7" as Keita Arishima in 2008-2009, will reportedly star as Monkey D. Luffy in the live-action film. It is said that the 28-year-old actor has been chosen for the lead role, as he accumulated the most votes in an online poll.
Further, Chinese vocalist Xie Lei Lei, who is known as a member of the Chinese girl group GNZ48, is up to play as the optimistic-romantic, Charlotte Purin, who is the 35th daughter of the Charlotte Family. Xie's character is Sanji's fiancée, as per the political marriage agreement between their families.
While many fans across the world are pleased with the new revelation, Japan's Shueisha was keen to dismiss the claims and buried the announcement as a false claim earlier Friday, June 17, Anime News Network has learned. The publication notes that Shueisha's remark did not give any further information.
Meanwhile, "One Piece" has received widespread critical acclaim, most notably for its characterization and humor, since the time that it has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on July 19, 1997. The long-time running manga, which has 320 million copies printed worldwide, follows the adventures of Luffy, a funny young man whose body gained the properties of rubber after he unexpectedly eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi Devil Fruit.
With his diverse crew of pirates - Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Nico Robin, Franky, and Brook - Luffy explores the grand line in quest of the world's definitive treasure known as "One Piece in order to become the next King of the Pirates.
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