City Hunter Manga Gets French Live-Action Film by Philippe Lacheau

French actor, writer, and director Philippe Lacheau (Babysitting, Alibi.com) announced on Instagram on Thursday that he is working on a live-action film adaptation of Tsukasa Hojo's City Hunter manga. The announcement features a picture of the title Nicky Larson (the French title of the City Hunter franchise) and lists Philippe Lacheau and Pierre Lacheau as scriptwriters. The movie will start shooting next year. Actor and writer Julien Arruti‏ also announced on Thursday he is involved in the project.

Sony Pictures France added on Twitter on Thursday that the film will open on February 6, 2019.

The manga follows Ryō Saeba, a sniper and a private eye ("sweeper") based in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward with unrivaled marksmanship and an over-the-top obsession for the opposite sex. He serves as a bodyguard and other duties for his clients.

Hojo's 1985 manga inspired four television anime series, one anime film, and several video and television specials including a 2015 original anime DVD. ADV Films released most of these anime projects in North America. Jackie Chan starred in a 1993 Hong Kong live-action film that very loosely adapts the original manga. A Korean live-action television series adaptation premiered in 2011, and Hulu streamed this version in the United States.

A separate Chinese live-action film adaptation has been green-lit for December 2018 or later in China.

Hojo launched the Angel Heart spinoff manga in 2001, and that series inspired a television anime in 2005. The spinoff manga also inspired a live-action television series that premiered in 2015, and Crunchyroll streamed this series as it aired.

Hojo's Angel Heart 2nd Season manga ended in May, and Sokura Nijiki will launch a manga titled Kyō Kara City Hunter on July 25. The manga is about a 40-year-old unmarried woman who has been obsessed with City Hunter's Ryō Saeba since high school. One day she is hit by a train and she is reborn in the world of City Hunter.