Full Metal Panic picked for live action movie

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/04/...l-panic-movie/

http://media2.firstshowing.net/first...upshot-img.jpg

So the anime trend continues to thrive. Mandalay Pictures has acquired theatrical rights to and will develop a big-screen version of Full Metal Panic, a Japanese manga series that blends action, comedy and high school romance. Yep, you heard that right, high school romance.

It's even set in a world almost exclusively without adults. And it gets better. Apparently Zac Efron is interested in the project, although he's not officially attached yet. Mandalay Pictures was behind films like Sleepy Hollow, Enemy at the Gates, The Score, The Jacket, and Into the Blue previously. Full Metal Panic hasn't been setup at a studio just yet.

The anime series follows a teenage anti-terrorist commando named Sousuke Sagara who is given the mission to protect a high-school girl with mystical powers. Based on Shoji Gatoh's manga, the anime first aired in Japan in 2002, with ADV Films licensing it here in the US.

That anime trend I'm talking about includes other live-action adaptations of Cowboy Bebop, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, and even Afro Samurai in the works as well. Though to be honest, if Zac Efron did end up starring this, I'd probably be interested in seeing it. We'll let you know once they hire a writer and director as well.