Toho's New Live-Action Sci-Fi Thriller Is Battle Royale Meets Space In First Look

Battle Royale is going to space in Toho‘s new sci-fi thriller.

The renowned Japanese studio prepares to close out its 2026 slate with the highly anticipated release of Godzilla Minus Zero. Meanwhile, Toho looks ahead to a remarkable 2027 slate, including Doraemon: Nobita’s Steam-Powered Time Machine and Godzilla x Kong: Supernova. Among its listings is the upcoming live-action adaptation of Leviathan, based on Shiro Kuroi’s bestselling manga.

Toho’s new movie is essentially Battle Royale in space, where an accident leaves a spaceship drifting. With low oxygen and only one life support, the surviving students fight against each other for survival. Now, just a few months before its February release, Goodfellas and Toho (per Deadline) unveil the first look at the live-action sci-fi thriller.

The first image shows Shunsuke Michieda, who plays Kazuma Ichinose, with her eyes looking down, while her white suit is splattered with blood. In another photo, the same actor appears seated next to Natsuki Deguchi, who plays Futaba Nikaido. Check out the images below:

Two months ago, Toho released a teaser trailer that mostly featured the pair, while the remaining cast were blurred with a red overlay. The preview teases the frenzy and bloody battles, as students are pitted against each other. Not long after the first images dropped, Toho shared a teaser that unveiled the remaining 36 cast members, including Kaito Sakurai, Jōhinji, Sakuma Ryuto, Riko Hanase Kotone, Miku Tanaka, Yoko Shogenji, and Ikuho Akiya.

The release of the first two images comes as French distributor Goodfellas prepares to present the sci-fi thriller at the American Film Market to launch sales to international territories outside Asia. Leviathan is in post-production. Currently, the sci-fi thriller has no North American release date.

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In recent years, more movies and television series have centered on a battle royale premise. In fact, the most recent is the upcoming Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, releasing on November 20, 2026. The franchise has been popular for just over a decade, with all five books written by Suzanne Collins adapted into six movies. Other examples of battle royale-inspired projects include Netflix’s record-breaking show Squid Game and Alice in the Borderland.

Michihito Fujii and Ryohei Shingu directed Leviathan, with the former writing the script with Izumi Takahashi. The manga ran as a three-volume series from 2024 to 2025.

Leviathan will be released in Japan on February 11, 2027.