Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Set to Come to the Big Screen

Capcom confirmed the Ace Attorney movie was in production by releasing two images which show actors Hiroki Narimiya and Mirei Kiritani as characters Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, respectively. Director Takashi Miike hinted at the film during the Cannes Film Festival last week. You may remember my pun-filled story on the Ace Attorney movie, back before we knew the film would indeed include the much-beloved Phoenix.

The post which confirmed Miike’s statements showed up on one of Capcom-Unity.com’s blogs, much to the delight of fans everywhere. In it, Capcom also mentioned a new Resident Evil CG film, called Resident Evil: Damnation and an animated film based on the Sengoku BASARA video games.

In the “Ace Attorney” game series, players take on the role of a defense attorney who fights for the lives of his clients. The first game in the series was released in October 2001, and since then, this popular courtroom battle series has gone on to ship over 4.1 million units worldwide (as of March 31, 2011). This critically acclaimed franchise has also inspired cell phone games, comic books, character-based merchandise, as well as orchestra concerts involving the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and even a stage musical by the Takarazuka Revue.

In the movie, the main protagonist, Phoenix Wright, will be played by Mr. Hiroki Narimiya, while rival prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, will be played by Mr. Takumi Saito. Pheonix’s assistant and spirit medium Maya Fey will be played by Ms. Mirei Kiritani. Mr. Takashi Miike of “Crows Zero” and “Thirteen Assassins” fame will be lending his directorial talents to the film. Production management will be handled by Nippon Television Network Corporation and distribution will be handled by Toho Co., Ltd. The movie is scheduled to be released in early Spring 2012 at all Toho Cinemas nation-wide.