Magnet Releasing acquires 'Blade Of The Immortal'

The genre arm of Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Takashi Miike’s Cannes official selection Blade Of The Immortal.

The film will play out of competition and is based on Hiroaki Samura’s long-running manga of the same name. Magnet plans to release the film later this year.

Blade Of The Immortal follows a warrior enlisted by a young girl to avenge her parents’ slaughter by master swordsmen. 

Takuya Kimura stars alongside newcomer Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi, Ebizô Ichikawa, and veterans of the screen Min Tanaka, and Tsutomu Yamazaki.

Tetsuya Oishi wrote the screenplay and producers are Jeremy Thomas, Misako Saka, and Shigeji Maeda, in association with Warner Bros Japan.

Magnolia / Magnet also have rights to two more films in Cannes: Arnaud Desplechin’s festival opener Ismael’s Ghosts, and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or contender The Square.

“We’ve been huge fans of Miike for a long time and couldn’t be more excited to work with him again on Blade Of The Immortal,” Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles said. “The action and fight choreography in this film are both visceral and balletic. They’re on another level.”

“I’m pleased to present my latest film,” Miike said. “It is a Samurai action about an immortal warrior. Love and tears splatter with arms, legs and heads that are chopped and splattered. I hope the audience will be prepared for this and enjoy the film.”

Magnolia co-executive vice-president Dori Begley and Magnolia senior vice-president of acquisitions John Von Thaden brokered the deal with Gabrielle Stewart and Nicole Mackey at HanWay Films.

Magnet distributed Miike’s Assassins in 2013.