1st film premiered last July

The official website for the live-action films of Hideaki Sorachi 's Gintama manga announced on Friday that the tentatively titled Gintama 2 sequel film will open in Japan on August 17.

Actor Jiro Sato will appear in the film. Sato played Takechi Henpeita in the first film, but teased that he will play a different role in the sequel.

The first film opened in Japan last July 14, and it earned 980 million yen (US$8.9 million) in its first four days. The film also inspired a live-action net show that debuted on Docomo's dTV streaming service on July 15, one day after the film's opening. The film had its Canadian premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in July, and Azoland Pictures screened the film in the United States and Canada starting on January 19.

Well Go USA will release the first film on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and DVD combo pack, and Digital HD on March 6.

Sorachi began the manga in 2004 and it continues to be ranked among the top-selling manga in Japan. The manga has more than 50 million copies in print in Japan. Viz Media published the first 23 volumes in English. Shueisha published the manga's 70th volume on October 4. The manga will reach the "climax" of its final arc on Monday.

Source: Comic Natalie