Sony Pictures is adapting One Punch Man into a live-action film – and the studio has signed up former Fast X director Justin Lin to helm it.
Initially created as a webcomic in 2009 by Japanese artist ONE, the title was remade into a digital manga comic in 2012. It centers on Saitama, a standalone superhero who can take out any opponent with a single right hook. Winning fight after fight soon becomes boring, though, and a disillusioned Saitama starts to wonder whether there's even an enemy out there that could challenge him in his fight against evil.
Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, who recently penned Jumanji: The Next Level and Venom together, are on board to write the script alongside Lin. Avi Arad and Ari Arad of Arad Productions will produce, as will Lin. According to Deadline, those involved in the project, having acquired the film rights from Shueisha's no Young Jump Next, are hoping to kick off production by the time 2022 is up.
Given its success, it's no wonder Sony wants to bring the story to the big screen. During its run, One Punch Man is said to have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. When the English edition was published in 2015, the first and second volumes placed on the New York Times Manga Bestsellers list and were nominated for an Eisner and a Harvey Award. Since then, One Punch Man had been made into an animated TV series, and more recently become the subject of a video and mobile game.
As for Lin, he walked away from Fast X, the tenth chapter in the ongoing Fast and Furious franchise and what would've been his sixth film in the franchise, not long ago due to creative differences with its star Vin Diesel. The Transporter's Louis Leterrier has since taken over directing duties.
