Pathe Productions, the British movie studio
subsidiary of the leading French media and
entertainment company Pathé, has announced the release date for the live-action adaptation of
Mamoru Oshii and
Hiroyuki Kitakubo's
Blood: The Last Vampire anime. (In the
linked page, select the Coming Soon button in the top menu.) The live-action film, which was first
announced over two years ago, is now scheduled to open in British theaters on June 12. Pathé also
lists a June 17 date for France. Chris Nahon (Jet Li's Kiss of the Dragon) is directing the production, based on a screenplay credited to the
Production I.G anime's
Kenji Kamiyama and Hong Kong's Ronny Yu. South Korea's Jeon Ji-hyun (under the credited name of Gianna Jun) plays the main character Saya, while Japanese actress Koyuki
plays her opponent Onigen.
No American release plans for the
movie have been officially announced yet. The Korean news website Star News
reported last August that
Universal Pictures acquired the domestic distribution rights, but the reported 2009 American release date is unconfirmed.