Good news to all Moonies: we now have a release date! You read that right, as Toei Animation has just announced this Tuesday that the newest film in the Sailor Moon franchise entitled Sailor Moon Eternal is set to open in Japan on September 11, 2020. There are no news yet of international screenings, but given the popularity of Sailor Moon we might actually get some news of that in the next few months.

Note that the September 2020 release date is only for the first of two film projects for the franchise. Toei has yet to announce a release window for the second film.

Earlier this month Toei announced that they will be co-producing the films with Studio DEEN. Chiaki Kon, who directed the third season of Sailor Moon Crystal (which critics deemed an improvement from the first two seasons) will be returning to direct the two films. Character design will be done by Kazuko Tadano, who is credited for the same role in the original anime. The script will be penned by JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, with the manga’s author herself Naoko Takeuchi serving as supervisor to the movies.

The two-part film is part of Sailor Moon Crystal, the modern reiteration of the beloved anime classic. Unlike the 90s anime, Crystal adapted the entire manga’s story and also stayed closer to the manga’s art style. Three TV seasons were released so far for Crystal: the first centered on the Dark Kingdom arc from the manga, the second on the arrival of the Black Moon Clan and Chibiusa, and the third featured the Death Busters and the introduction of the Outer Senshi (Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Pluto). Most Moonies were waiting for news of a fourth season, which is supposed to adapt the Dead Moon arc; now, we’ll be getting two movies instead.

Source: Anime News Network