Two new live-action Fullmetal Alchemist movies are set to release in Japan this year. The first, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Kanketsu-hen Fukushuusha Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist The Final Chapter: Scar the Avenger), will premiere on May 20, while the second, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Kanketsu-hen Saigo no Rensei (Fullmetal Alchemist The Final Chapter: The Final Transmutation), will premiere on June 24.
Several posters and trailers have been released for the upcoming films, including a special trailer narrated by the Fullmetal Alchemist anime’s Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya. Among the contents previewed in the trailers are the Ishval Civil War; characters like Van Hohenheim, Solf J. Kimblee, Lan Fan, and Olivier Mira Armstrong; a clash between King Bradley and Ling Yao; and a battle between the Elric brothers and Scar.
Like the 2017 Fullmetal Alchemist live-action movie, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Kanketsu-hen Fukushuusha Scar and Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Kanketsu-hen Saigo no Rensei are directed by Fumihiko Sori and written by Sori and Takeshi Miyamoto. The cast includes Ryousuke Yamada as Edward Elric, Mackenyu as Scar, Tsubasa Honda as Winry Rockwell, Dean Fujioka as Roy Mustang, Misako Renbutsu as Lisa Hawkeye, Kanata Hongou as Envy, Yuina Kuroshima as Lan Fan, Keisuke Watanabe as Ling Yao/Greed, Yuuki Yamada as Solf J. Kimblee, Hiroshi Tachi as King Bradley, Kouji Yamamoto as Alex Louis Armstrong, Chiaki Kuriyama as Olivia Mira Armstrong, Ryuuta Satou as Maes Hughes, and Seiyou Uchino as Van Hohenheim/Father.
The Fullmetal Alchemist manga by Hiromu Arakawa ran from 2001 to 2010 and was first published by Enix, and later Square Enix. It was serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan and published under the Gangan Comics label. Viz describes the manga as:
Alchemy: the mystical power to alter the natural world; something between magic, art and science. When two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, dabbled in this power to grant their dearest wish, one of them lost an arm and a leg…and the other became nothing but a soul locked into a body of living steel. Now Edward is an agent of the government, a slave of the military-alchemical complex, using his unique powers to obey orders…even to kill. Except his powers aren’t unique. The world has been ravaged by the abuse of alchemy. And in pursuit of the ultimate alchemical treasure, the Philosopher’s Stone, their enemies are even more ruthless than they are…
The manga has inspired two anime series, two anime movies, various video games, and more. The anime are produced by Bones, with Seiji Mizushima directing the first 2003 series and the follow-up Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa 2005 movie. The 2009 reboot series was directed by Yasuhiro Irie, while the 2011 Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos movie was helmed by Kazuya Murata.
