With the film’s release just a few weeks away, the Knights of the Zodiac live-action movie shared a behind-the-scenes feature showing star Mackenyu in action.
While it may not feature new footage from the movie, it does give fans of Mackenyu a peek at how the film was made.
It also features a look at how he trained for the role of Seiya the Pegasus Knight.
Mackenyu might have played roles in various anime live-action adaptations before, but Knights of the Zodiac is his first major international film.
Mackenyu’s Debut as a Lead Star Outside Japan
It’s fair to say that Mackenyu is incredibly popular in Japan. After all, he has played roles in well-known live-action anime adaptations such as Chihayafuru, Tokyo Ghoul S, and Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, among others.
Though in 2021, Mackenyu revealed that he will begin to focus on international projects.
Among these are the upcoming Knights of the Zodiac live-action film and Netflix’s One Piece series.
While Knights of the Zodiac is based on the popular Saint Seiya manga series, the film is an American and Japanese co-production.
It also features an international cast with the likes of Sean Bean and Famke Janssen.
Because of the franchise’s popularity in Japan though, the film will first open in Japanese cinemas on April 28. This will be followed by the film’s US release in May.
This film might be Mackenyu’s first lead role in an international production, but this isn’t his first Hollywood movie as he also played a role in Pacific Rim: Uprising.
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Knights of the Zodiac Behind-the-Scenes Video Shows Mackenyu’s Training
It may not be a long video, but this behind-the-scenes feature shows off Mackenyu’s physical preparation for the movie.
After all, playing Seiya is physically demanding given the fight scenes.
The video also shows off some footage of the movie’s filming days.
What’s interesting is that the movie has a lot of scenes that are shot on-location, meaning it won’t be composed of mostly green screen sets.
Check out the behind-the-scenes video here:
Following this video’s release, the film’s premiere event in Japan was also streamed on YouTube.
Alongside Mackenyu, the premiere featured appearances from the rest of the main cast.
The Knights of the Zodiac movie will be released in US cinemas on May 12, 2023.
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