Written by Kaiu Shirai (白井 カイウ) and illustrated by Posuka Demizu (出水 ぽすか), shonen manga The Promised Neverland (約束のネバーランド) confirmed a live-action movie in winter 2020.
Let Me Eat Your Pancreas 19-year-old lead actress Minami Hamabe (浜辺 美波) stars Emma (middle), while 13-year-old Jyo Kairi (城桧吏) and 17-year-old actor Rihito Itagaki (板垣 李光人) play Ray (right) and Norman (left), respectively. The movie is directed by Yūichirō Hirakawa (平川雄一朗), director of the Rookies series and live-action movie Erased.
The Promised Neverland follows the story of Emma, an 11-year-old orphan living in Grace Field House, a self-contained orphanage housing her and 37 other orphans. Life has never been better: with gourmet food; plush beds; clean clothes; games; and the love of their “Mother”, the caretaker, Isabella. The orphans are allowed complete freedom, except to venture beyond the grounds or the gate, which connects the house to the outside world.
One night, an orphan named Conny is sent away to be adopted, but Emma and Norman follow after noticing that she left her stuffed toy at the house. At the gate, they find Conny dead, and they realize the truth of their existence in this idyllic orphanage. Determined to break out of Grace Field House, Norman and Emma join with Ray to find a way to escape along with their other siblings.
The actor and actress’ age difference from the original characters have drawn attention and readers are curious about how the man-eaters are brought to life on the big screen.
▍About The Promised Neverland
The Japanese manga series is written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 1, 2016, with the individual chapters collected and published by Shueisha into sixteen tankōbon volumes as of October 2019.
The manga won the Best Shōnen Manga award at the 63rd Shogakukan Manga Award in January, was nominated for the 11th Manga Taisho awards in January, and was nominated for the 22nd Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in February. The series also topped the 2018 edition of Takarajimasha’s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (This Manga Is Amazing!) guidebook’s list of manga for male readers last December.
An anime television series adaptation by CloverWorks premiered from January to March 2019 in the Noitamina programming block. A second season will premiere in 2020.