When news broke that Sony was adapting the popular anime One Punch Man, everyone heaved a collective sigh. After all, it’s not like Hollywood has a good track record when it comes to adapting anime. Fox famously messed up Dragon Ball: Evolution. And in the immortal words of the Epic Voice Guy, it was “America’s biggest insult to the Japanese culture since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Not to mention how Death Note turned out.
As pessimistic as this sounds, the news that Sony is handling this doesn’t really inspire any confidence. Choosing the two guys who wrote Venom will do just that. Obviously, I cannot say that the movie is definitely doomed to fail. For all I know, the movie may end up being great. It’s just that the choices and the track-record speak for themselves.
Also Read: When Does One Punch Man Season 3 Come Out?
Why Edgar Wright Is The Best Fit For One Punch Man
One Punch Man is known for its satirical take on the shonen genre. The show’s protagonist Saitama can defeat anyone with a single punch and as such finds himself in the midst of an existential crisis. It is the show’s subversive taken on the superhero genre and the deliberate positing of Saitama as a deus ex machina that makes it click.
I fear that Sony’s film will completely misunderstand the point of the character. Furthermore, I fear they will turn it into a generic superhero film. Venom felt like a dated 2000s superhero picture and if the Morbius trailer is any indication, we’re in for more of the same. However, if there’s one person that can do it justice it’s Edgar Wright.
One Punch Man’s fantastic visuals and over-the-top action are one of the best in the game. Edgar Wright is a proven director whose visual style and sense of humour will perfectly align with the source material. He also understands that a good movie goes beyond just recreating comic pans and visual candy. I do hope that if anyone, it’s Edgar Wright who ends up making this film.
