Hiroshi Tamaki stars in film adaptation of Tezuka's "MW"

[Tokyograph News]

"MW," a manga by famed artist Osamu Tezuka, is being turned into a live-action film, starring actor Hiroshi Tamaki. Taking the director's seat is Hitoshi Iwamoto, known for several popular television dramas.

The comic originally ran in Shogakukan's Big Comic from 1976 to 1978. The story revolves around MW, a poisonous gas developed as a chemical weapon by foreign military forces. After an accidental leak on an isolated island, the military covers up the incident by exterminating all of the island's inhabitants. One survivor named Yuuki (Tamaki) grows up as an elite bank employee, but in secret, he is a killer taking revenge on those responsible for the incident. His ultimate goal is to unleash MW across the whole world.

Takayuki Yamada co-stars as Yuuki's friend and accomplice, a priest named Yutaro Garai.

Filming started on April 20, and some scenes are currently being shot in Thailand. The movie will open in theaters in 2009.

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