Knights of the Zodiac, the upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular anime series Saint Seiya, has announced some exciting casting news, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mackenyu, son of the late Sonny Chiba, will star as Seiya, a street orphan gifted with a mystical energy called Cosmo who is called to battle against gods. Actress Madison Iseman is set to play Sienna, a young girl with immense powers.
Additional cast include Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Nick Stahl, Diego Tinoco and Mark Dacascos. Bean will play Seiya’s mentor Alman Kiddo, while Tinoco is a character hired to kill the reincarnated goddess Athena. Knights of the Zodiac is directed by Polish animator and special effects artist Tomasz Baginski, best known for The Witcher. Andy Cheng, the fight coordinator for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, will serve as the fight and stunt coordinator for the film.
Toei Animation and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions collaborated on the project, which is apparently “coming off wrapping up production.” The film has been in development for quite some time with considerable production delays. The latest script was penned by Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken.
Masami Kurumada created the manga and anime in 1986, which was published by Shueisha and ended up selling over 25 million copies. Netflix recently tried its hand at a reboot with the 2019 series Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya, which ran for twelve episodes.
