Film set for summer 2014 release
Dave McNary
Film Reporter@Variety_DMcNary
An animated film version of the “Heavenly Sword” videogame is heading into theaters next summer, and screenings are set for the American Film Market.
TriCoast Worldwide is representing the film for sales at AFM.
“Heavenly Sword” is produced by Blockade Entertainment, based on the 6-year-old Sony PlayStation videogame franchise. The producers of the film are those behind the upcoming “Ratchet & Clank” feature film, based on the Insomniac Games franchise.
“Heavenly Sword” stars Anna Torv as the heroine Nariko, Alfred Molina as King Bohan and Thomas Jane as Loki. Blockade released the synopsis Wednesday, disclosing that the story centers on Nariko embarking on a quest for vengeance against the invading king and his army while armed with an ancient sword that can never be wielded by a mortal without it slowly and inevitably killing them.
Blockade CEO Brad Foxhoven serves as a producer on the film with company VP of development David Wohl.
The film initially began as a production experiment between Blockade and Sony. Initial feedback on early cuts of the film encouraged Blockade, Sony and the film’s financial partners to take the film to Cannes this year with TriCoast.
Foxhoven said that thanks to the positive feedback from Cannes and other executives within Sony Computer Entertainment, Blockade was allowed to expand on the production pipeline with a bigger film franchise. In addition, the reaction led Blockade to plan a theatrical release for the film, which was initially envisioned as a direct-to-video release.
Blockade also released the trailer Wednesday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1KhVdnlCs4#t=14
View the original article here: http://variety.com/2013/film/news/afm-heavenly-sword-animated-movie-set-for-release-next-year-1200779307/