Initial D Movie: Sung Kang to Direct Live-Action Adaptation of Hit Racing Anime

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Initial D Movie: Sung Kang to Direct Live-Action Adaptation of Hit Racing Anime

In a recent interview with South China Morning Post, Fast & Furious vet Sung Kang has confirmed that he’s currently developing the live-action film adaptation of Initial D, based on the classic street racing manga by Shuichi Shigeno. Kang will direct the Initial D movie, which he described as a “big-budget” project.

“It’s about cars and drifting and cool things like that,” Kang said. “Almost a Rocky or Karate Kid. A fun, big-budget movie that expresses my love affair for cars.”

Besides the Initial D movie, Kang is also working on a biographical drama based on his childhood experience living in Georgia with a biracial family. “I want to get that out in the world,” he said. “It’s about my father and mother. There’s a fire under that one because I want to honour my father, who’s not too healthy, before it’s too late.”

What is Initial D?

Initial D was written and illustrated by Shigeno. It was published in Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine from 1995 to 2013. The story takes place in the world of Japan’s illegal street racing during the late 1990s. It centers around 18-year-old Takumi Fujiwara, a tofu delivery driver who discovers his extraordinary talent in car racing.

The manga was adapted into a six-part anime series which lasted for 87 episodes, airing from 1998-2014. It also received several anime movie spin-offs, as well as a live-action film adaptation in 2005 which starred Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, Japanese actress Anne Suzuki, and Hong Kong actor Edison Chen.