Fullmetal Alchemist to complete live-action adaptation with two new movies【Video】

Antagonist Scar joins the cast, along with several other fan favorites who didn’t make it into the first film.

In 2017, Fullmetal Alchemist was adapted into a live-action movie. Even at a lengthy two hours and 15 minutes long, though, there was no way to cram all 27 volumes’ worth of manga source material into it, and the film limited itself to a condensed version of the series’ first story arc. The Fullmetal faithful are about to be rewarded, though, because Warner Bros. Japan has just announced that it’s restarting the adaptation with two new live-action films that will fully adapt the rest of the tale of wandering alchemist adventurer siblings Ed and Al.

However, it’s Scar who’s getting by-name billing in the first follow-up, titled Fullmetal Alchemist: Scar the Avenger. Though absent from the first film, Scar, who will be portrayed by Mackenyu Arata, ends up playing a major role in the story as his quest for vengeance for the slaughter of his people crosses paths with Ed, who’s now an employee of the same military that carried out the massacre.

Scar/Arata aren’t the only newcomers, though. As Fullmetal Alchemist moves toward the midpoint of its plot, the cast of characters quickly expands, and the sequel films will also see the live-action debuts of Lin Yao/Greed (portrayed by Keisuke Watanabe), King Bradley (Hiroshi Tachi), Alex Louis Armstrong (Koji Yamamoto), Olivier Mira Armstrong (Chiaki Kuriyama), Solf J. Kimblee (Yuki Yamada), Lan Fan (Yuina Kuroshima), and Van Hohenheim (Seiyo Uchino).

The first film’s principal cast, such as Ryosuke Yamada as Ed, Dean Fujioka as Roy Mustang, and Tsubasa Honda as Winry Rockbell are set to reprise their roles. Also returning from the first live-action Fullmetal Alchemist are director Fumihiko Sori and scriptwriting partner Takeshi Miyamoto, and if you want even more nostalgia, there’s also an alternate version of the upcoming sequel’s trailer narrated by Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya, Ed and Al’s anime voice actresses.

Reactions to the news that not one, but two, new live-action films are on their way has been mixed, with Japanese Twitter comments including;

“I have been waiting so, so long for this!”
“I was hyped when I heard the news, and after watching the trailer I’m even more hyped!”
“I think they’re overestimating the demand by making two more films.”
“Is this really the sort of thing Warner Bros. should be wasting money on?”
“I didn’t think the first one made much money, but I guess they still felt it did OK enough financially if they’re making two sequels at once.”
“I think this is gonna be one of those movies that people only buy tickets for because they want whatever limited-edition merch comes with it.”
“Kimblee is in this one!?! Can’t wait to go see it!”

▼ Kimblee apparently can put symbols on his hands and butts in seats.

The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan lists a domestic box office total of 1.1 billion yen (roughly US$9.6 million), so it wasn’t exactly as profitable as a formula to turn lead into gold, but it wasn’t met with the same chorus of groans as the live-action Attack on Titan films either.

We won’t have to wait long to see if Warner Bros. is being overly ambitious in producing two sequels, though. Fullmetal Alchemist: Scar the Avenger comes out in theaters in Japan on May 20, and the third and final film, subtitled The Final Transmutation, premiers on June 24.

Source: Fullmetal Alchemist movie official website via Jin
Images: YouTube/ワーナー ブラザース 公式チャンネル
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