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Fast & Furious’ Justin Lin to direct One Punch Man live-action, Twitter suggests potential cast

Katie Pask Jun 16, 2022
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Announcing the director of the movie has got Japanese Twitter speculating on who will be cast in the leading role.

Back in 2020 it was announced that Sony Pictures were considering turning One Punch Man, the smash-hit Japanese series about the world’s most laid-back superhero, into a Hollywood live-action film. Avi and Ari Arad, the father/son duo responsible for many of the Spiderman movies, were attached as producers, and the writing team behind Hollywood hits such as Jumanji: The Next Level and Venom‘s Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner were slated to write the movie’s script. Now we have one more big Hollywood name to add to the project — Justin Lin, best known for directing a number of the Fast and the Furious movies, as well as Star Trek Beyond.

Japanese fans welcomed the news of Lin being appointed as director, as the Fast and the Furious franchise is popular in Japan, where it is known as Wild Speed. Netizens were pleased that yet another big name in Hollywood had become attached to the One Punch Man project, with many people commenting that Lin’s involvement gave them hope that the movie will be a success.

At the moment, Lin’s appointment as director is all the new information Sony are willing to share; release dates and cast are yet to be officially announced. That didn’t stop Japanese Twitter from immediately speculating on who they thought would be ideal for the role of Saitama —

▼ “Someone who looks weak on the outside but on the inside they’re the total opposite, and they can pull off a bald head… in other words, Jesse Eisenberg, right?”

ワンパンマンの実写化。
見た目弱そうで実は中身はヤバくてハゲが似合う。
となると、ここはジェシー・アイゼンバーグじゃね？ pic.twitter.com/N2NXBfz79b

— じょにぃさん怒りのデス☆労働 (@st_johnny_san) April 25, 2020

▼ “Justin Lin is confirmed as director of One Punch Man?! That means Saitama’s actor can only be…”

https://twitter.com/555godzilla/status/1536488276978446336

▼ “Let Dwayne Johnson be in One Punch Man’s live action please.”

実写版ワンパンマンの役者はドウェイン・ジョンソンでおねがいします pic.twitter.com/CW5wVCHPAV

— 大腿四頭筋と大腿二頭筋が異常発達してる人 (@aida_2222) November 7, 2015

▼ “When I heard there was to be a live action One Punch Man, this was the first thing that came to mind.”

実写版ワンパンマンと聞いて思い浮かべたもの pic.twitter.com/EXLj6C9KCo

— 久遠 (@kuon_0601) April 22, 2020

▼ “Jason Statham to star in upcoming One Punch Man live action. (just kidding.)”

ハリウッド実写版ワンパンマンの主演はジェイソン・ステイサムに決定(嘘です) pic.twitter.com/XLHUsaEHlm

— ここあぶるー＠お仕事募集中 (@cocoablue23) April 22, 2020

But while actors like Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham definitely have the ‘superhero’ build (and can pull off a shiny head no problem), one of Saitama’s key characteristics is how average he looks, particularly when it comes to his physique. While it would be great to see one of Hollywood’s buff baldy’s as the lead, many Japanese netizens suggested Japanese comedian Eiji Kotoge as a better fit.

▼ “They should use Eiji Kotoge for the regular Saitama shots, and then Dwayne Johnson for the more serious looks.”

実写版ワンパンマンのサイタマの普段顔は小峠で、本気顔はドウェインジョンソンにすれば良いとおもう pic.twitter.com/88WmptTXQ0

— 月光 (@NXFCkc) April 22, 2020

▼ Here’s how Saitama looks in the One Punch Man anime, for comparison.

When it comes to live action adaptations, anime fans have been burned so many times (no really, so many times), but that won’t stop us from looking forward to any updates on the One Punch Man movie down the line. Fingers crossed they smash it out of the park — literally.

Do you have any thoughts on who should get cast as the unremarkable looking man with the strongest punch in all the world? Who knows, it might be someone surprising.

Source: Twitter, Jin
Top image: YouTube/vizmedia
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