Attack on Titan, The Movie: Part 1

Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人) is an upcoming live-action movie, directed by Shinji Higuchi (1990s Gamera trilogy) and written by Yusuke Watanabe (live action Gantz, 20th Century Boys and Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods) and Tomohiro Machiyama (film critic), based on the Attack on Titan manga created by Hajime Isayama.

It is slated to be released in Japan on August 1, 2015, and it is the first of a two-part story that will continue in part two Attack on Titan: End of the World, to be released on September 19 of the same year.

Plot
That day, humanity remembered... More than one hundred years ago, Titans suddenly appeared. The majority of the human race was eaten and civilization collapsed. The survivors of the war built three walls to prevent the invasion of the Titans, and kept the peace by securing the living area inside. In one hundred years, the wall has not been broken... until this day.

Description
The story of the live-action movie will be based on the manga but will include some original aspects and will be supervised by the author, Hajime Isayama.

Among the aspects that the film shares with its manga counterpart are the concepts of the Titans, the Walls, the Survey Corps and the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear. Manga characters confirmed to appear in the movie are Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Hange Zoë, Sasha Blouse and Jean Kirstein. The Colossal Titan appears too, but it is unknown if his identity is still Bertolt Hoover in the movies' continuity. Eren is also shown being able to transform into Titan.

However, there are many differences; one of the most notable being that all characters are portrayed by Japanese actors, while in the original work, most people have western names and features (except the Asian races). Also, many of them bear little physical resemblance with the manga versions, including the case of Armin portrayed by an actor with black hair.

A new character called Shikishima replaces Levi Ackerman as Humanity's Strongest Soldier, being referred to as "The Strongest Man" in his cast poster.

Other new characters introduced in the movie in main roles are Souda, Hiana, Kubal, Fukushi, Sannagi and Lil.

Production information
The film was announced on October 2011, with a planned release date in 2013 and in December of 2011 was announced to be a live-action movie. A car commercial featuring the Titans and directed by Shinji Higuchi was also announced.

Filming began May, 2014 and finished August, 2014. Shooting locations include Hashima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture and Toho studio.

In June 29 it was announced that FUNimation acquired the theatrical, home entertainment, video on demand and broadcast rights to the movies across the Americas (North America, Central America and South America).

FUNimation also announced that the film’s director Shinji Higuchi will appear at the San Diego Comic-Con for an autograph session on Sunday, July 12, at 1:00 p.m. PST at FUNimation’s booth (#4135). Following this they will host the world premiere of the first movie in Japanese with English subtitles at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday, July 14. Haruma Miura and Kiko Mizuhara, who portray Eren and Mikasa in the movie respectively, will appear at the film’s premiere along with the director.

"FUNimation is honored to host the world premiere of Attack on Titan here in the United States with Toho," said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and President of FUNimation Entertainment. "Attack on Titan is truly a worldwide phenomenon and we are excited to bring the live action movie to theaters across the Americas later this fall."

Cast, Crew and other Details

 * Haruma Miura - Eren Yeager
 * Mizuhara Kiko - Mikasa Ackerman
 * Kanata Hongô - Armin Arlert
 * Satomi Ishihara - Hange Zoë
 * Nanami Sakuraba - Sasha Blouse
 * Takahiro Miura - Jean Kirstein
 * Hiroki Hasegawa - Shikishima
 * Ayame Misaki - Hiana
 * Pierre Taki - Souda
 * Jun Kunimura - Kubal
 * Shû Watanabe - Fukushi
 * Satoru Matsuo - Sannagi
 * Rina Takeda - Lil

Production Companies

 * Kodansha
 * Licri
 * Nikkatsu
 * Toho Company
 * Toho Pictures

Special Effects

 * Nishimura Motion Picture Model Makers Group

Trivia

 * Tetsuya Nakashima was originally selected to direct the film, with a public announcement on December 8, 2011. It was announced by December, 2012 that Tetsuya Nakashima has dropped out of the project due to creative differences. On December 4, 2013 a public announcement was made that the movie project will begin again with Shinji Higuchi as the film's director.
 * The theme song of the movie is Anti-Hero by Sekai no Owari.

​External Links

 * Official website
 * Attack on Titan Live Action Movie on IMDB