Hollywood to Film the Bleach Anime as a Live Action Movie

There have been rumors since May 2010, but now it's confirmed. Bleach is going to hit the big screen as a live action movie.

On February 23rd 2012, Viz Media concluded a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures over the rights. Now development can begin on creating the film.

Peter Segal has already been drafted in to produce Bleach, though he also has an option on directing it. His most famous out-put in the past has included Get Smart, The Nutty Professor II and The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.

Screen-writing duties have fallen to Dan Mazeau, who also penned the forthcoming Liam Neeson film, The Wrath of the Titans.

Joining the team from Viz will be Jason Hoffs and Branon Coluccio. They are both billed as producers, no doubt to ensure that their brand is protected, as Bleach makes the transition to the silver screen.

Bleach is one of the most popular Japanese manga and anime series of all time. In Japan alone, there are over 75 million copies of the manga in print; while 2.1 million Americans have bought them too.

The long-running anime series tops the ratings in Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and it has long been one of Hulu's most watched shows. A massive array of merchandise has already sprung up around it, including games, trading cards and action figures. Bleach cosplayers are a permanent fixture of any anime convention.

The live action movie follows in the feature length footsteps of four previous Bleach anime films.

The majority of fans will take this news as their cue to start mentally casting stars into the leading roles.

A quick flick through various forums has already uncovered a few suggestions. Nick Jonas, Johnny Young Bosch or Topher Grace for Ichigo; Christina Ricci for Rukia et al. (Feel free to comment at the end of this article with your own dream line up!)

The field is wide open, as Warner Bros. haven't yet even started auditions, let alone released a cast list.

However, a large number of Bleach enthusiasts will be greeting the announcement with dismay.  Hollywood in general, and Warner Bros. in particular, do not have a wonderful track record in transforming Japanese anime into live action movies.

The biggest fear is that it will receive the same treatment as Dragonball Z. The film version was called Dragonball Evolution and it was universally panned. Fans and critics alike have since held it up as an example of why Hollywood should leave anime well alone.

On the bright side, that was 20th Century Fox, not Warner Bros. Pictures. Unfortunately, things haven't always run smoothly there either.

Death Note the movie was delayed for three years, due to behind the scenes wrangling over script and production. Even when Warner Bros. finally secured the rights, there were issues. Director Shane Black revealed that the studio wanted to change the whole story, turning Kira into the good guy and removing Ryuk completely.

Those same executives will be overseeing the development of Bleach too. Fans will be hoping that Peter Segal fights as hard for the integrity of their manga, as Shane Black did for Death Note. However, that will inevitably postpone the picture, while script details are ironed out. Cinema-goers are yet to see Death Note, as that was pushed back a whole year.

Another anime adaptation hitting rocky waters is Akira. After many expensive rewrites and casting changes, filming was going ahead for this Warner Bros. movie. Then, in January 2012, everyone was sent home and the set was shut down.

None of this bodes well for production on Bleach, but fans will remain ever hopeful!