Viz Media to produce live-action adaptations of popular manga

Viz Media, the biggest publisher of manga and anime in North America, has teamed up with United Talent Agency (UTA) to start production on a few live-action projects based on its library of series.

Viz's Chief marketing officer, Brad Woods, said in a press release that Viz will focus on bringing live-action entertainment to both national and international markets. Although Viz hasn't mentioned which properties its interested in planning to adapt as live-action features, the company is home to a variety of hugely successful manga series, including Naruto, Tokyo Ghoul and One-Punch Man.

"Bringing the rich stories of manga and anime to life in new ways is an exciting opportunity with tremendous potential," Woods said.

Lionsgate is currently working on its own live-action Naruto film, although that appears to be completely independent of Viz Media and UTA's new agreement. A live-action adaptation of Death Note is also in the works at Warner Bros.

Viz Media first entered the world of live-action entertainment with last year's Edge of Tomorrow, which starred Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The film was adapted from All You Need is Kill, a manga published by the company.

There's no word on when production on live-action installments will begin, but Polygon has reached out to Viz Media for more information and will update as the story develops.