Tokyo Tribe and Strayer’s Chronicle co-star, actor Sometani Shota’s name has been circulating a bit for what looks to be some terrific upcoming U.S. releases from Funimation, and we’ll hopefully have some more official information in due time. For now though, we look toward his latest venture with The Monk Comes Down The Montain helmer Chen Kaige for his latest role in the new fantasy sci-fi, Yao Mao Zhuan, or Legend Of The Cat Demon.
Production is reportedly underway following six months of development before hand, inspired by author Yumemakura Baku’s four-volume novel, “Samon Kukai Tou no Kuni nite Oni to Utagesu” from 2004. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Lust, Caution scribe Wang Hui Ling is adapting the screenplay set in the late Tang Dynasty in the capital city of Chang’an with Sometani in the role of Kukai, a Japanese monk who becomes embroiled in the turmoil offset by a cat demon who infiltrates the home of an official and forecasts the death of an Emperor. Amidst it all, Chinese actor Huang Xuan will play Bai Juyi, a poet who is tasked with investigating the supernatural occurances surrounding the mystery.
Yao Mao Zhuan is currently slated for a 2017 release while other cast and story details remain unknown until further notice. (H/T: YesAsia/YumCha)