Turning MW into a Film

Been awhile hasn’t it?

Ok, I realise this is old news to most of you guys, but I only just found out. It appears that a film is being made of Osamu Tezuka’s MW and filming has already begun. MW is one of Tezuka’s darker works. It takes place after the leaking of an experimental gas which kills the inhabitants of a small island, and the only ones who survive are Yuki and Garai. A couple of decades later Garai is a priest and Yuki; a banker. But they both hold a secret; that since the accident Yuki has been murdering and raping left and right. To make matters worse since Yuki and Garai have been having a “romantic” relationship.

Now, if done correctly I think a MW film could be fantastic. The manga itself is very odd, but also very cinematic. When I was reading I could often picture it as a film or live action drama. Hell, I think it would suit itself well to an American or British production, but I don’t like what little we’ve seen of this adaptation, mainly the casting.

If I had to pick who I’d cast as the main characters it’d probably be Cillian Murphy as Yuki (he could probably do a good job of pulling off the androgyny while still being creepy.) But casting father Garai would be much more difficult. He’d have to be older (probably in his 40’s). In the case of the upcoming Japanese film I like the casting as Yuki, he’s good looking enough and could probably be quite creepy. But father garai just looks... Wrong. They’ve made him much younger, probably to make there relationship a little less creepy (for lack of a better word) But Father Garai also looks too attractice. He isn’t meant to be a pretty boy, he’s a gruff guy so I doubt he cares how his hair is gelled.

MW could be a great film, but live action Tezuka adaptations have never had that much luck (anyone remember that Phoenix film, or the black and white Astro Boy? Both were pretty nausea inducing) Lets hope they use the source material well and go beyond just another live action manga.