Studio Chizu has finally released the first proper trailer for Oscar-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda‘s upcoming fantasy film, Scarlet.
Scarlet, first announced by Sony in collaboration with Studio CHIZU back in April, is a new anime film helmed by the acclaimed anime director Mamoru Hosoda. He is known for his work on films like Mirai, Belle, The Boy and the Beast, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Summer Wars. The movie, also referred to as Scarlet Without Limits or Endless Scarlet in Japan, is an isekai-adjacent tale about a princess named Scarlet, played by Mana Ashida (known for her role as Ruka Azumi in Children of the Sea). After her father, the king, is murdered, she leaps across space and time to seek revenge.
During her journey, Scarlet finds herself in the Land of the Dead, where those who fail to fulfill their quests for vengeance risk disappearing into nothingness. Along the way, she meets a modern-day Japanese man named Hijiri, played by Masaki Okada (Keicho Nijimura in the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable live-action film), who aids her in her perilous quest.
While Sony Pictures has yet to announce an English dub cast for the film, its Japanese cast has been revealed. Here’s a lineup of its cast, along with where you might’ve heard them before.
Koji Yakusho (Kumatetsu in The Boy and the Beast) as Claudius, Scarlet’s uncle and the murderer of her father.
Masachika Ichimaru (Mewtwo in Pokémon: The First Movie) as Amulet, Scarlet’s father.
Kotaro Yoshida (Ichigo Saito in Oshi no Ko‘s live-action movie) as Voltimand, Claudius’s henchman.
Yuki Saito (Saki Asamiya in Sukeban Deka) as Gertrude, Scarlet’s mother.
Yutaka Matsushige (Yoshino in The Ring) as Cornelius, another henchman of Claudius.
Kazuhiro Yamaji (Hit in Dragon Ball Super) as Polonius, a third henchman of Claudius.
Tokio Emoto (Satoru Motomiya in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) as Laertes. Can I hear a fourth henchman of Claudius?
Munetaka Aoki (Sosaku Tachibana in Godzilla Minus One) as Rosencrantz, not a henchman but a retainer of Claudius.
Shota Sometani (Minoru Okabe in Suzume), as Guildenstern, another retainer of Claudius.
Nao Shiroyama as a mysterious girl in the Land of the Dead.
Kayoko Shiraishi (Rohan’s grandmother in Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe) as a mysterious old woman in the Land of the Dead.
According to Anime News Network, Hosoda says the film is neither 2D animation nor “Hollywood-style CG.” Instead, the film appears to lean more toward the kind of 3D CG style commonly associated with fellow animation studio Orange. Regardless, Hosoda stated the obvious: Scarlet will have a different feel and look from his past works, while also maintaining its romantic elements alongside its more focal point on action. Given the latter part of the cast announcement and Hosoda’s previous statement that Scarlet will be based on a “global classic,” it’s pretty obvious that the inspiration behind the film is none other than the tale of Hamlet with a cosmic high fantasy anime twist.
Audiences will discover the wonderment Scarlet has in store when it releases in U.S. theaters on December 12, just a few weeks after its Japanese debut on November 21.