News: Please refresh your browser on every visit as modifications are implemented relevant to the recent upgrade.
The Saint Seiya saga is getting the live-action, big-screen treatment with the upcoming feature film Knights of the Zodiac, opening only in theaters on May 12, 2023. IGN can exclusively debut the trailer for Knights of the Zodiac, which can be viewed via the player above or the embed below.
"All of my co-stars were wonderful people, and that was very encouraging for me. They had their family on set. Sean Bean seems super cool on screen, but off screen he's cute, easy to talk to, & I love him. It was hilarious that he said to me, "I die a lot in movies, don't I?"
They cast Sean Bean after offering him the part several times. "Alman Kido is a single minded-character. I had an image of an English gentleman who wants to atone for his past mistakes, Sean Bean came to mind. In a way, he has a similar presence to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars."
Guraad was introduced as Kido's business partner, delving deeper from the name Guraad Foundation managed by Kido in the original manga. Screenwriter Kiel Murray came with the idea "What if she's a woman?" That led to the decision to make them former husband & wife.
During the scene where she talked about her feelings for her daughter Sienna to Kido, he was able to experience the chemistry between Sean and Famke, so he thought it was a good idea to set them as former husband and wife.
The Japan premiere of Saint Seiya The Beginning will be streaming live on YouTube April 18th starting from 18.45 JSTGuest: Mackenyu, Sean Bean, Famke Jannsen, Madison Iseman, Diego Tinoco, Mark Dacascos, Director Tomek Baginski, & their jp voice actors https://youtube.com/live/FM6piYbuxHU?feature=share
Take a look at more stunt footage from the upcoming feature “Knights of the Zodiac”, aka “Saint Seiya The Beginning", adapting Masami Kurumada's "Weekly Shonen Jump" characters, is a new live-action feature, from Toei and Sony Pictures, starring Madison Iseman, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Nick Stahl, Diego Tinoco and Mark Dacascos, releasing in theaters May 12, 2023:
Anime and manga fans have been treated to plenty of their favorite titles being adapted into live-action, with even more projects on the way. The most recent of these is Knights of the Zodiac, Sony's upcoming movie adapted from the popular manga and anime Saint Seiya, which promises not only some impressive action and deep storytelling, but also impressive star power, with a cast that includes Famke Jannsen, Nick Stahl, Mark Dacascos, Madison Iseman, Mackenyu, and Sean Bean.Directed by Tomek Bagiński, who counts Netflix's The Witcher and its spinoffs The Witcher: Nightmare and the Wolf and The Witcher: Blood Origin among his credits, Knights of the Zodiac tells the story of Seiya (played by Mackenyu), who rises from fighting for money to battling for the fate of the world and to protecting Sienna (played by Madison Iseman), who is actually the reincarnation of the Greek goddess Athena. Along the way, Seiya embraces his own destiny and learns to harness magical powers with the help of Alman Kido (Sean Bean). Knights of the Zodiac finds its basis in Greek mythology, and it uses those ancient tales to propel its action-packed story.Speaking with Game Rant, Sean Bean provided deeper details on his character, and the qualities he found within him. Elaborating on his acting process, Bean said, "It's a question of finding that knowledge, maturity, intellect. It's like looking back on one's own life. You look on when you were younger, you realize you hopefully learned a bit more over the years." The actor added that Alman Kido is "a very educated man, very successful businessman and a billionaire who is retired and follows his true passion which is ancient history and folklore and Greek mythology." Bean also notes the conflict that Kido finds himself in, and how his task of protecting Sienna weighs on him, saying:He's quite laid back, but he has a heavy weight on his shoulders in terms of his responsibility to Sienna and trying to find someone who can provide her with the energy and support she needs in terms of the cosmos and the cosmic energy she needs every day. As you said he's a father figure and a mentor, but he's aware that he's in a very dangerous situation. It's quite perilous the journey that he's taking in order to keep Siena on the right track which would lead to transformation into the goddess Athena. So he's well aware of the consequences but he's quite steady and a level-headed man.Incidentally, Bean is no stranger to Greek mythology, having played Odysseus in the 2005 film Troy. Beyond that, though, the actor said that he has always been interested in Greek mythology, and highlighted how many of the stories passed down for centuries are "surreal" and "bizarre." "Experiences like Zeus having children from his forehead and things like that, or how Hera, I believe, puts a stone in his belly and he thinks he's having another one or something (laughs)."In regards to Knights of the Zodiac, Bean said it was the inclusion of Greek mythology that drew him to the project, but it was how the story remixed that folklore that he found most interesting. "When that was combined with the Japanese culture, the manga, the anime, I thought it was a really interesting mixture. It took me a little bit long to get my head around it, but I think it's fascinating that they're able to draw the two cultures together and create such a thought-provoking and exciting piece of work."
Sean Bean As Alman KiddoDespite his different name, Knights of the Zodiac’s Alman Kiddo is an adaptation of the original manga’s beloved character Mitsumasa Kido. He’s the foster grandfather of Sienna following her reincarnation as a human, and the leader of a high-tech company named the Kido Foundation. The character is played by Sean Bean, the English actor responsible for playing Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and Boromir in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. He’s the highest-profile actor in the Knights of the Zodiac cast, though it’s very different from the projects he usually takes on.
"I had fun working with Mackenyu, he's a joyful person. He's very focused & talented. He's passionate about his work, he's self-disciplined & has a deep understanding about his character. He's an actor, a fighter, & a wonderful young man."ーSean Bean
“Mackenyu is such a wonderful actor that we couldn't give him any advice. I think he will definitely become a star.”ーFamke Janssen
Knights of the Zodiac is the 2023 live-action adaptation of the Saint Seiya manga filled with over-the-top action, vibrant special effects, and a talented cast to bring it all to life. Sony Pictures teams up with the anime powerhouse Toei to bring the story of Seiya and the Goddess Athena's Cosmo-Powered Knights to the big screen. While live-action anime films have a reputation for falling flat, Knights of the Zodiac goes all in on its flashy fight scenes and world-ending family drama.The film features a young girl named Sienna (Madison Iseman) who has mysterious powers awakened inside of her that threaten the safety of the world unless she learns to control them. Her father, Alman Kido (Game of Thrones star Sean Bean), and his close friend Mylock (Mark Dacascos) work to protect her and attempt to find the Knights destined to protect the goddess Sienna is shaping into. They are pursued by her mother, Guraad (Famke Janssen), and the intimidating Nero (Diego Tinoco). Things begin to heat up when the young Seiya (Mackenyu) accidentally awakens abilities in a fighting tournament that lead him right to Sienna and a battle for the world's fate.Sean Bean's character Alman takes on the responsibility of nurturing Sienna so that her powers could someday be used to save the world rather than end it. However, his ex-wife Guraad has different plans, and their disagreement may be the trigger that starts the largest battles the world has seen. Sean Bean recently joined Screen Rant to talk about his role in Knights of the Zodiac and reflect on some of his best on-screen deaths.Sean Bean on Parenting a Goddess in Knights of the ZodiacScreen Rant: Alman's relationship with his daughter provided many of Knights of the Zodiac's most emotionally potent scenes. I hope that none of your children in real life have threatened the safety of our planet, but did Alman teach you anything new in regard to being a father?Sean Bean: Not really. He's a father or a mentor, but it's a slightly different situation because he's bringing up this Goddess. She can be a bit difficult, not difficult with me, but with my ex-wife, [Guraad], and all the cosmos [energy] she's received. I thought he was a very, very well-rounded, very well-written character. He was sympathetic. And that followed his true passion, which was mythology, Greek mythology, ancient history, folklore and that kind of stuff.To come across this young girl, this little baby, really was kind of almost [like his] destiny to find something that he believed in, he studied, he was passionate about, and to come across this, which he's probably searched for all his life was quite a massive turning point for him. From then on, we see how things develop with his wife Guraad. They were happily married, and things change dramatically when Sienna comes into our life. So I guess he's got a father's responsibility. But on top of that, he's got the responsibility to help bring up a goddess and the wisdom and the good things that she can bring to the world.You seem to be well aware that a majority of the characters you've played have perished on camera. For you, what are some of the most memorable deaths that you've had to act out throughout your career?Sean Bean: I suppose Lord of the Rings was a good one. And my first death was a film called Caravaggio, which is about the artist Caravaggio. [It was a] Derek Jarman film, and he was a wonderful guy, a great director. And that was my first death, and I got my throat slit. It's your first day, and you go "Oh great!", and I suppose the best death was Boromir in Lord of the Rings. That was a very epic kind of death, very emotional, very moving. Peter Jackson allowed me enough time to die and milk it. Yeah, great music and pathos.It all came together so well. I imagine your James Bond death in Goldeneye, having to react to a satellite falling on you, was a little hard to play out.Sean Bean: Yeah, at the time as well. Because green screen wasn't as fancy as it is now so, you know we had to use our imaginations. *laughsWith the Game of Thrones franchise seeing a resurgence thanks to House of the Dragon, and with a couple of spin-off series in the works, would you be open to playing Ned Stark again in some sort of flashback or side story?Sean Bean: *laughs I don't know if Ned would ever be incorporated again. I'm not that clued-up about the [new series]. I've heard it's really good. You know, I'm gonna see that. But yeah, it's always nice to think that you could be involved in some way in such a great series that's something that became [so known] worldwide. I don't think at the time that we knew how big Lord of the Rings was going to turn out, and the same with Game of Thrones. So you know, if I were ever asked again, it would be nice to be involved in some way. And it's the same with Knights of the Zodiac. I wasn't familiar with how vast that was in this scale of popularity and the following it has, so you know maybe [Knights of the Zodiac] will one day become a similar kind of thing.
Game Of Thrones heartthrob Sean Bean glowed beside his fifth wife Ashley Moore as he made a rare red carpet appearance Wednesday.He joined a glittering array of actors that evening for the Los Angeles premiere of his upcoming fantasy feature Knights Of The Zodiac.The 64-year-old, whose iconic roles include Boromir in The Lord Of The Rings, cut a ruggedly handsome figure as he treated the cameras to his rakish grin. He slipped into a cream collared sweater and jazzed up the look with a textured blue blazer that matched his trousers. Meanwhile Ashley, who is 26 years his junior, threw an affectionate arm around him as he glowed with happiness on the red carpet.
The Box Office Mojo website and entertainment news website Deadline reported on Sunday that Knights of the Zodiac, the live-action film of Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya manga, has earned an estimated US$535,000, and ranked at #11 in the box office in its opening weekend in the U.S. The film screened in 586 theaters, and earned an estimated US$222,000 on its opening day on Friday, US$186,000 on Saturday, and US$127,000 on Sunday. Box Office Mojo lists the film with a current worldwide gross of US$5,007,573.
Knights of the Zodiac has just been released in theaters and has proven to be one of the worst anime adaptations ever made. The Saint Seiya movie featuring Sean Bean has firmly entered our top 3, almost on par with Dragonball Evolution, and its box office performance is not exactly spectacular either.“However, Knights of the Zodiac will soon have a double life. As is the case with many movies nowadays, despite not performing well in theaters, it is expected to fare better on streaming platforms. Whether it’s to rediscover a gem that is being vilified or to revel in the madness that the film has become, the movie will be arriving on Netflix very soon.” “According to Sony Pictures, the production company behind the $70 million film, the Saint Seiya adaptation will arrive on Netflix starting from June 1, 2023. This means that there will only be a few days between its theatrical release and its arrival on the official streaming platform.Why Netflix? The answer seems logical. The platform currently has the CGI remake of the series from 2019, as well as the original anime and some of its movies available in various countries. Therefore, Netflix appears to be the official home of Saint Seiya, as well as an increasing number of continuously released anime titles.”“Undoubtedly, the new release of Saint Seiya is a fresh opportunity for the movie to find its audience. So far, it hasn’t pleased fans or unfamiliar viewers… but who knows. The ways of Netflix are inscrutable.”
The live-action Knights of the Zodiac movie is coming to Netflix in the United States at the tail end of October 2023, What’s on Netflix has learned. It’ll mark the movie’s SVOD premiere following its theatrical release earlier in the year.Set to arrive on Netflix on October 26th, the movie tells the story of a street orphan destined to protect a young girl and save the world.
The live-action Knights Of The Zodiac blockbuster had a budget of $60 million, which in comparison to Marvel Studios’ efforts will appear modest.And yet, its returns all signaled the film being a disastrous box office bomb.The movie only made a measly $7 million at the box office, failing to even make back a sixth of its budget. In addition, the film was also met with disappointment by critics and it currently sits at 21% on the Rotten Tomatoes critics meter.On the other hand, it sits at a fresh 61% with general audiences, so perhaps it could achieve popularity on Netflix and be given the success some clearly believe it deserves.
