Lupin III: The First comes to the UK in 2021!
While Lupin III: The First has recently enjoyed limited showings around the world, the UK premiere and all subsequent screenings were cancelled due to COVID-19 related lockdown measures.
Despite this, licensing and distribution company All The Anime have announced that they plan to give the 3D animated feature film a wider theatrical release in the UK next year (providing all goes well), and also bring it to home video in 2021.
There are no details on which version of the film is to be shown - whether it be the Japanese subbed original, the North American English dub, or both. More details are to be revealed in the coming weeks, so stay tuned if you’re as curious to find out as we are.
All The Anime have previously released a fantastic boxed set of Lupin III: Part IV, and currently hold the rights to Lupin III: Part 5 (however have yet to release the most recent series in the UK as of time of writing).
Look forward to our review of the Blu-ray version next year, and in the meantime you can check out our review of All The Anime’s Part IV boxed set right here.
This is amazing news for those like us living in the UK - as our hopes of catching the film in cinemas was dashed in early November due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and closure of hospitality / leisure venues.
The Lupin franchise often goes underrepresented in the UK, with only a handful of official VHS, DVD and Blu-ray releases to go off.
None of the original three TV series have ever had an official release over here until recently, and only The Secret of Mamo, The Castle of Cagliostro, Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure, Secret Of Twilight Gemini, The Woman Named Fujiko Mine and Part IV have made it DVD or Blu-ray.
Previously, Lupin VS Detective Conan: The Movie had a one-off showing up in Scotland as part of the yearly Scotland Loves Animation event - but that’s it for theatrical showings.
With Lupin III: The First, there is hope that Lupin can reach a wider audience, giving the franchise a bit of a boost in the UK.
It’s great All The Anime have picked it up, and can only mean good things for fans in the UK (like us)!
