Filming starts this spring for movie showing Chihaya as third-year high school student

Director Norihiro Koizumi announced at the Sanuki Film Festival 2017 event in Kagawa on Sunday that the new sequel to the two live-action film adaptations of Yuki Suetsugu's Chihayafuru manga will take place two years after the first two films. The film will depict Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata in their third year of high school.

Koizumi also stated that the movie will start filming this spring. Koizumi added that since it has been two years since filming started on the first film, that in the new film as well, two years will have passed. He also stated that the film will portray the love triangle between Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata, and will settle the rivalry between Chihaya and Shinobu Wakamiya. Koizumi said that Suetsugu has approved the film's script.

The first film, Chihayafuru: Kami no Ku (Chihayafuru: Upper Phrase), opened in Japan on March 19. The second film, Chihayafuru: Shimo no Ku (Chihayafuru: Lower Phrase), opened in Japan on April 29. The staff announced the sequel film on the same day the second film opened in Japan.

The films star:

Suzu Hirose as Chihaya Ayase

Shūhei Nomura as Taichi Mashima

Mackenyu as Arata Wataya

Yūki Morinaga as Tsutomu Komano

Yūma Yamato as Yūsei Nishida

Mone Kamishiraishi as Kanade Ōe

Jun Kunimura as Harada

Mayu Matsuoka as Shinobu Wakamiya

Miyuki Matsuda as Taeko Miyauchi

Hiroya Shimizu as Akihito Sudō

Ryōtarō Sakaguchi as Hiro Kinashi

Norihiro Koizumi ( Midnight Sun, Kanojo wa Uso o Ai Shisugiteru ) directed both films.

Suetsugu launched the manga in Kodansha's Be-Love magazine in December 2007, and Kodansha will publish the manga's 34th compiled volume on March 13. The manga has more than 16 million copies in print in Japan. Kodansha Comics is releasing the manga digitally in English.

The manga inspired the first 25-episode television anime season from October 2011 to March 2012, and the second 25-episode season aired in Japan from January-June 2013. Additionally, the 22nd volume of the manga bundled an original anime DVD when it shipped in September 2013. Sentai Filmworks announced in September that it has licensed both seasons of the anime.

Source: Eiga.com