Live-action adaptation of one of the most popular manga ever is moving forward with Rick and Morty co-creator on board

One-Punch Man
(Image credit: J.C. STAFF)

The live-action movie adaptation of One Punch Man is moving ahead – and, now, Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon is onboard. 

News that Fast & Furious 9 director Justin Lin would helm a live-action adaptation of the famous manga broke back in 2022, but news on the project has been quiet since then. 

Tucked away in a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter is the news that Lin's adaptation, which is at Sony, is currently undergoing rewrites from Harmon and comedian (and Rick and Morty co-executive producer) Heather Anne Campbell. In 2022, Jumanji: The Next Level and Venom co-writers Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner were said to be writing the script with Lin, and the hope was to begin production by the end of 2022. Clearly, that didn't happen, but this latest update is promising. 

One Punch Man is one of the highest selling manga series ever, and it also has a popular anime adaptation, too. In fact, the anime is returning for One Punch Man season 3 after a five year break and has released one epic trailer teasing what's to come. 

The manga follows Saitama, a superhero powerful enough to end any opponent with – you guessed it – one punch, in a world terrorized by supervillains and monsters. But, that makes winning battles fairly boring, and he ends up mentoring a vengeful cyborg named Genos.

There's no further information on the One Punch Man movie just yet, since it's so early in development. While you wait, check out our guide to the best anime on Netflix and our choices of the best anime to watch now to fill out your watchlist. 

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.