The official website for the live-action films of Yasuhisa Hara‘s Kingdom manga revealed a new trailer for Kingdom: Unmei no Honō (Flames of Destiny), the third film, on Thursday. The trailer reveals Anne (Anne Watanabe) as the pivotal character Shi Ka (Zi Xia).
The film will open on July 28.
The film covers the manga’s Shi Ka (Zi Xia) arc and the Battle of Bayou — the first time Shin (Xin) and Ō Ki (Wang Qi) stood on the battlefield together, to fend off the invasion by the mighty Chō (Zhao) from the north.
Kento Yamazaki, Ryō Yoshizawa, Takao Osawa, and Kanna Hashimoto all reprise their respective characters Shin (Xin), Ei Sei (Yin Zheng), Ō Ki (Wang Qi), and Ka Ryō Ten (He Liao Diao), respectively from the two previous films. Nana Seino, Hiroshi Tamaki, and Kōichi Satō from the second film also reprise their respective characters Kyо̄ Kai, Sho Hei Kun (Lord Changping), and Ryo Fui (Lu Buwei).
Shinsuke Satō (live-action Gantz, Death Note Light up the NEW world, Bleach) returns as director. Hara and Tsutomu Kuroiwa (One Piece Film Gold, live-action Black Butler, GANTZ:O) return to write the script.
The first film opened in Japan in April 2019 and sold 506,861 tickets to earn 690,219,500 yen (about US$6.17 million) in its first three days. The film eventually earned a cumulative total of 5.73 billion yen (about US$53.2 million). Funimation screened the film at Anime Expo in July 2019, and screened the film in theaters in the United States and Canada in August 2019.
The second film Kingdom II: Harukanaru Daichi e (To Distant Lands) opened in Japan in July 2022. The film sold 527,000 tickets in its first two days, and earned 797 million yen (about US$5.75 million) to rank at #1 in its opening weekend. The film has earned 5.16 billion yen (about US$37.8 million), making it the highest-earning Japanese live-action film in Japan in 2022.
Hara’s historical manga centers around the slave boy Xin and his dream of becoming a great general for the state of Qin. Xin helps Ying Zheng, the young Qin king who shares his desire to unify China, rise to power within the state. Xin does all he can to become a superior commander of an army capable of defeating the Seven Warring States.
The record-setting manga launched in Shueisha‘s Weekly Young Jump magazine in 2006.
The manga’s first television anime adaptation premiered in 2012, and a second series premiered in 2013. Funimation streamed both series in North America and released both anime series on DVD in 2016. The third anime series premiered in April 2020. The show went on hiatus after four episodes due to COVID-19, but then resumed airing in April 2021. The anime restarted its airing from the first episode. Funimation streamed the anime as it aired in Japan.
The fourth series premiered on NHK General in April and aired for 13 episodes. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan. The anime’s fifth series will premiere in January 2024.
Sources: Kingdom live-action films’ website, Comic Natalie
