Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner are set to write a live-action film adaptation of the worldwide hit manga series “One Punch Man” for Sony Pictures. Avi Arad and Ari Arad of Arad Productions are producing the film.
Hugely popular both in Japan and around the world, “One Punch Man” follows the story of Saitama, a superhero who can defeat any opponent with a single punch but seeks to find a worthy opponent after growing bored by a lack of challenges in his fight against evil.
Created in 2009 by Japanese artist ONE as a web comic, “One Punch Man” quickly went viral. In 2012, it was then published on Shueisha’s Young Jump Next with illustrations by Yusuke Murata along with ONE. The series saw worldwide sales of over 30 million copies. When the English edition published by VIZ Media debuted in the U.S. in 2015, the first and second volumes made the New York Times manga bestsellers list and was nominated for an Eisner and a Harvey Award. Since then, the popularity of “One Punch Man” has led to a critically acclaimed anime TV series, as well as a video and mobile game.
Insiders say Sony is very high on the property given its popularity and the possibility of adding another franchise to the pipeline. Rosenberg and Pinkner have become favorites at Sony after penning the hugely successful “Venom,” which led to an upcoming sequel. They also wrote both “Jumanji” pics for the studio. The most recent installment, “Jumanji: the Next Level,” bowed this past December and grossed $796 million at the worldwide box office.
