The highly-anticipated Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom anime movie recently revealed its main trailer, a new key visual, and its Japanese theatrical release date: September 20, 2024 JTS. Now, the producer behind the isekai dark fantasy film has revealed that it will be over two hours long! That's exciting news, and it should be enough time to adapt the major arc from Kugane Maruyama's light novel series.
In a recent press conference in Japan (via Comic Natalie), producer Kazufumi Kikushima talked about the upcoming anime film, and revealed that the production team is likely going to be working on it "right up to the very last minute." Kikushima went on to confirm that Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom is over two hours long and what has been shared in the previews is just the tip of the iceberg.
Director Naoyuki Itou is returning to helm the movie at Madhouse, and he's also credited for the composition and as a scriptwriter. Satoshi Tasaki is also returning as chief animation director and character designer; Yukie Sugawara is also returning and is credited for script collaboration. Shūji Katayama of Team-MAX is returning to compose the film's music at Kadokawa Animation, while Fumiyuki Go is returning as the sound director.
What is Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom about?
Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom anime movie is expected to adapt the arc featured in the 12th and 13th volumes of the light novel series written Kugane Maruyama and illustrated by so-bin, so that means the plot of the film will be canon. Sixteen volumes have been published by Enterbrain since July 2012, so we can expect the story to continue after the film adaptation.
Kadokawa shared a story description for Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom:
Under the leadership of Sacred Queen Calca, the Roebel Sacred Kingdom enjoyed an era of peace, protected behind their great walls. However, that peace was easily destroyed by the sudden appearance of the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth and the attack of the Demi-Human Alliance. Though the grandmaster of Roebel Sacred Kingdom's Sacred Paladin Order, Remedios, and the high priestess, Kelart, gathered their forces to retaliate, they could not overcome the overwhelming difference in Jaldabaoth's power, and their kingdom is now on the verge of collapse. Remedios travels with her order and her subordinate, Neia, to a certain kingdom in hopes of gaining power to counter Jaldabaoth. The name of that kingdom is Sorcerer Kingdom Ains Ooal Gown. It is a grotesque nation ruled by an undead and despised by those of the Sacred Kingdom—
You can watch the latest trailer for Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom below:
Overlord Season 1 consisted of 13 episodes, and premiered in Japan in July 2015. Season 1 was made available to stream on Funimation as it broadcasted in Japan, and the company released en English dub of the anime on Blu-ray and DVD in November 2016. Overlord Season 2 premiered in January 2018 and concluded in April 2018. Crunchyroll streamed Season 2 as it broadcasted, and the English dub was streamed on Funimation. Season 3 premiered in July 2018, and Crunchyroll streamed the third season as it aired, with Funimation streaming the English dub of the series again. Season 4 of the anime premiered in July 2022, and Crunchyroll streamed both the original Japanese version (with English sub) and English dub of the series.
Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment have licensed Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom for a theatrial release in the United States in the future but have yet to officially confirm a release date or window.
