Columbia Snags Remake Rights to 'Big Man Japan'

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Neal H. Moritz

Columbia Pictures has optioned remake and sequel rights to Big Man Japan.

Neal H. Moritz, through Original Film, will develop and produce the feature with Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi writing the adaptation.

The story of Big Man Japan centers on a world where monsters wreak havoc and “there’s one man who can protect the citizenry: Big Man Japan, who runs the Department of Monster Prevention. Using electricity, he can grow to be 10 stories tall and fight off the most menacing of monsters. The problem is that he’s not very good at his job and often causes as much damage as he prevents. The people believe he’s a joke – and not nearly as good at the job as his father and grandfather were before he took over the family business.”

Big Man Japan, released in 2007 in Japan and directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto, became a cult hit in the U.S. two years later.

The option for non-Japanese language rights to the film were secured through Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. and their affiliate Yoshimoto Creative Agency, producers of the original film.

Toby Jaffe will oversee development for Original.

Moritz’s most recent films include Fast Five and Battle: Los Angeles. He has the upcoming Ryan Reynolds-Jason Bateman comedy The Change-Up on tap, with remakes 21 Jump Street and Total Recall in production.

Hay and Manfredi penned Clash of the Titans and also wrote the screenplay for Aeon Flux. They are adapting R.I.P.D. and The Boys, both for Moritz.