Thirty-eight students, a wrecked spaceship, forty-one hours of oxygen, and then someone discovers the rather inconvenient fact that only one person can survive – yeah, Leviathan isn’t exactly going for a relaxing school trip.
The first official teaser has now arrived for Toho’s live-action adaptation of Shiro Kuroi’s sci-fi survival horror manga Leviathan, revealing a grim-looking Japanese production that turns a stranded spaceship into a pressure cooker where friendship, morality and basic human decency are apparently optional.
The film stars Shunsuke Michieda as Kazuma Ichinose and Natsuki Deguchi as Futaba Nikaido, with Michihito Fujii and Ryohei Shingu sharing directing duties, and Toho will release Leviathan in Japanese cinemas on February 11, 2027.
The Spaceship Is Already a Graveyard
The Leviathan is an enormous spaceship drifting through deep space after suffering a catastrophic disaster, where trapped aboard are 38 students who initially attempt to find a way home, and then comes the discovery that changes everything – the ship’s remaining oxygen will run out in 41 hours, while a cryogenic survival capsule can accommodate only one person.
The students are forced to confront the possibility that getting home together isn’t an option, so suspicion takes over, alliances become dangerous and the distinction between protecting yourself and murdering somebody else starts getting very bloody indeed.
The original manga adds another layer to the setup too, as years after the disaster, space looters discover a diary belonging to middle-schooler Kazuma, gradually uncovering what happened aboard the abandoned vessel.
Watch the First Teaser
From Manga Cult Hit to Live Action
Kuroi’s Leviathan was originally published as a three-volume manga, beginning in 2022 and concluding in 2023, and it was initially published in France by Ki-oon, while the Japanese edition was serialised through Shueisha’s Shōnen Jump+ platform.
The manga also has a slightly unusual publishing history, because Kuroi originally presented a 33-page monochrome version of Leviathan at the Comitia doujinshi convention in 2019 before the project was expanded into the full series.
The manga’s international reception also gives the movie something to live up to, as it has been compared to Battle Royale and Dead Space, which is a pretty damn good description of the territory it occupies – teenage survival violence mixed with isolated science-fiction horror.
Michieda Gets a Much Darker Role
Shunsuke Michieda plays Kazuma Ichinose, the central character whose diary becomes the surviving record of the catastrophe, and Michieda is probably best known internationally for his work with Naniwa Danshi, but he’s also built up a substantial acting resume, where his previous screen work includes the live-action The Files of Young Kindaichi, My Love Mix-Up! and The Last Song You Left Behind.
The Japanese announcement specifically emphasises that Michieda is taking Kazuma into a much darker place, portraying him battered and forced to survive in an increasingly insane environment, while Natsuki Deguchi plays Futaba Nikaido, and she’s arguably the more immediately dangerous presence.
Two Directors, Two Very Different Strengths
The film is being directed by Michihito Fujii and Ryohei Shingu, an unusual pairing for a project that needs to balance large-scale science fiction with intimate survival horror – Fujii has become one of Japan’s more recognisable contemporary filmmakers, with credits including Last Samurai Standing and A Family, and he has also worked extensively across films and streaming productions.
The production has also been described as involving next-generation VFX, with Shingu specifically highlighted in Japanese coverage for his work in that area, and Leviathan is scheduled to open in Japanese cinemas on February 11, 2027, with Toho handling Japanese distribution.
Check out these other Japanese horror movies too.
Leave a Reply