He might’ve put the brakes on directing Fast X, but it didn’t take Justin Lin very long to start the engine on another project, as Deadline reports that he’s set to direct a movie based on One-Punch Man, the hit manga and anime series.
One-Punch Man, which started its life as a hugely viral webcomic made by the Japanese artist ONE, tells the story of Saitama: a man with the power to defeat every opponent with just one punch. However, in his continual fight against villains, he struggles to find an opponent worthy of his power — so sets out to find one.
The webcomic, which was first published in 2009, is still ongoing, while the manga remake of One-Punch Man currently has 26 volumes since it started publishing in 2012. It’s also been adapted into a critically-acclaimed anime TV series, which currently has two seasons. According to Deadline, Sony Pictures hope that this One-Punch Man action movie is the start of a long-running film franchise for the studio.
Sony Pictures acquired the film rights for One-Punch Man from Shueisha, with the studio enlisting Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner — who previously worked together on adventure movies like Venom and Jumanji: The Next Level — to pen the film.
Meanwhile, Avi Arad and Ari Arad of Arad Productions — who have worked on a range of MCU and Marvel movies like the Spider-Man movies, X-Men movies, Iron Man, and Venom — are producing the movie.
As well as being the director, Lin is also set to work with Arad Productions to produce the film, and is also said to be working with scribes on rewrites. According to Deadline, the aim is for the film to begin production by the end of 2022.
Both seasons of One-Punch Man are available on Netflix.