Yahoo News Japanese Superhero Film ‘Lion-Girl’ Snapped Up for U.S., U.K. by Cleopatra Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)
Cleopatra Entertainment has secured the North American and U.K. distribution rights for Japanese superhero film “Lion-Girl.”
The film is written and directed by cult Japanese director Mitsutake Kurando (“Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf”) and based on characters created by prolific manga artist Go Nagai. The story revolves around survivors of a meteor shower who find themselves locked in a battle against each other and a group of creatures called Anoroc, monsters who hunt and kill humans to extract their life force.
More from Variety
The cast includes Tori Griffith (“Wake Up,” “Princess of the Row”) as the titular Lion-Girl, Derek Mears, known for his roles in comic book adaptations such as The CW’s “Swamp Thing” series, Damian TooFeek Raven (“The Chadwick Journals”), David Sakurai (“Fantastic Beasts”), Shelby Lee Parks (“Good Trouble”), Matt Standley (“Fairyland”), and Joey Iwanaga (“Enter the Fat Dragon”).
Shot entirely in Los Angeles during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, the film was produced in collaboration with Toei Video. The film has had a speciality film festival run, including screening at the Fantastic Film Festival Australia and the Grossmann Fantastic Film Festival in Slovenia.
The rights agreement was negotiated by Brian Perera, founder and CEO of Cleopatra, Tim Yasui, VP-GM of Cleopatra Entertainment and Takata Shiori, head of international film licensing for the Toei Company, Japan.
“Lion-Girl” will release in November on across VOD platforms, as well as on DVD and Blu-ray for home entertainment.
Cleopatra Entertainment, headquartered in Los Angeles, is a multimedia company established by Perera, the head of Cleopatra Records. Their recent film releases include “Shin Ultraman” and “Tubular Bells: 50th Anniversary Tour.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
