This year's 38th issue of
Shueisha
's
Weekly Shonen Jump
magazine is revealing on Monday that
Tite Kubo
's
Bleach
manga is getting a live-action film adaptation that will open in Japan in 2018.
S?ta Fukushi
(live-action
Toshokan Sens?
/Library Wars'
Hikaru Tezuka, live-action
Strobe Edge
's
Ren Ichinose, live-action
Kami-sama no Iu Toori
's
Shun Takahata) will star in the film as Ichigo Kurosaki, and
Shinsuke Sato
(live-action
Gantz
,
Gantz II: Perfect Answer
films,
Oblivion Island
anime film) is directing the film.
Shueisha
is publishing
Bleach
's final chapter in the 38th issue on Monday. The combined 36th-37th issue had
teased
on August 8 that the 38th issue would have an "important announcement" for
Bleach
.
Bleach
entered
its final story arc in February 2012. The manga's 73rd volume then
announced
that the 74th volume will be the final volume.
Kubo launched the manga in
Weekly Shonen Jump
in 2001, and
Shueisha
published the manga's 73rd volume on July 4.
Viz Media
is publishing the manga in North America digitally in English as new chapters are published in Japan. The company is also publishing the manga in print and published the 67th volume on July 5.
The manga inspired a television anime adaptation that ran for 366 episodes from 2004 to 2012.
Viz Media
obtained the television and home video rights to the anime in 2006. The series premiered with an English dub on
Cartoon Network
's
Adult Swim
programming block that same year, and eventually aired all the episodes by 2014.
Viz Media
announced
in June that it will release the television anime series on Blu-ray Disc, and the first volume shipped on July 19.
The manga has also inspired four anime films, a series of novels, and several video games. A series of stage musical adaptations launched in 2005, with the latest
entry
finishing
its run on August 4.