Warner Bros. has acquired live-action feature rights to Tite Kubo’s manga and anime property “Bleach,” which will be adapted by “Wrath of the Titans” scribe Dan Mazeau.
Peter Segal (“Get Smart“) will produce with an eye toward possibly directing.
With more than 75 million print copies in circulation in Japan alone, “Bleach” follows the adventures of Ichigo, a teenager who can see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow — a malevolent lost soul — Ichigo inadvertently absorbs the power to hunt Hollows. He then dedicates his life to protecting the innocent and helping tortured souls find peace.
Segal’s Callahan Filmworks partner Michael Ewing will also produce along with Masi Oka and Viz Prods., a subsidiary of Viz Media, the English-language publisher of “Bleach.” Jason Hoffs will produce for Viz, while Branon Coluccio will exec produce. WB exec Jon Berg will oversee the project for the studio.
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Oka, who co-starred in Segal’s “Get Smart,” brought the project to Callahan Filmworks.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of ‘Bleach’ and have great respect for its creator Kubo and the truly original and amazing world he has created in this manga,” said Segal, whose “Get Smart” grossed more than $230 million worldwide for Warners in 2008.
CAA reps Segal, Ewing and Callahan Filmworks, as well as Mazeau, who is also repped by Circle of Confusion and attorneys Shep Rosenman and Lee Rosenbaum of Katz, Golden & Rosenman. Oka is repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion.
