Hit spy drama ‘Vivant’ heads to the big screen
The film announcement follows a second season that sparked controversy in China over its portrayal of a fictional intelligence agency.
Spy thriller series "Vivant" is transitioning from small screens to movie theaters, according to an announcement made shortly after the second-season finale aired on November 8. The film adaptation, starring Masato Sakai, is set to hit theaters on December 4, promising an epic continuation of the season's storyline. The second-season finale, a ratings sensation with a 21.8% household audience share in the Kanto region, outperformed its predecessor's 19.6% share.
Among commercial dramas since the Reiwa Era's start, "Vivant"'s finale ranks second, trailing only behind the 32.7% share of TBS series "Hanzawa Naoki" in 2020. The spy drama, which premiered in July 2023, follows Yusuke Nogi (Sakai), a seemingly ordinary employee of a trading company, who becomes entangled in covert operations involving Japan's Self-Defense Forces elite secret military intelligence unit, Beppan.
As the series progresses, it introduces a fictional Chinese intelligence agency and a Russian intelligence angle, raising the stakes and drawing criticism from China. In a post-finale video, Sakai hinted that the film would unveil the truth behind the unusual details presented in the final episode. TBS has also announced that the film will receive a simultaneous IMAX release, with advance tickets going on sale at midnight on November 8.
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