Fans of shouting, spirit-channelling and extremely dubious lawyering rejoice: Capcom has announced that a movie based on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is in production now, directed by Takashi Miike and slated for release early next year.

For those of you who haven't played them, the Ace Attorney video games -- known as Turnabout Trial in Japan -- pretty much invented the Courtroom Battle genre with games that actually managed to combine homicide cases and wacky characters into something that's genuinely entertaining. Players take the role of rookie defense lawyer Phoenix Wright in a system where you defend your clients by gathering clues and present evidence to reveal lies and contradictions in witness testimony -- and if that sounds familiar, you've probably been playing L.A. Noire this week.Phoenix Wright himself -- so named for his ability to rise from the ashes of an otherwise hopeless case -- will be played by Hiroki Narimiya who, like Phoenix himself, has a signature haircut. Unfortunately, his does not involve being swept back into sharp points that make his head look like an art deco rocketship:


Phoenix's rival, the elegant, ascot-rocking prosecutor Miles Edgeworth (who starred in his own spin-off title), will be played by Takumi Saito, who looks like he'll bring the appropriate amount of wispy prettiness to the role:

Finally, Phoenix's spirit-channeling, constantly eating sidekick Maya Fey will be played by Mirei Kiritani:


Other cast details haven't been released yet, but it seems like if we were going to see Franziska von Karma, the whip-wielding teenage prosecutorial prodigy, that's probably information they would've led with.

Given that he's probably best known for disturbing, hyper-violent films like Ichi the Killer, it Takashi Miike may seem like an odd choice to helm a movie based on a video game known for groan-worthy pun names and cartoony reactions, but it actually seems like a pretty good fit. Miike's certainly done more lighthearted fare like The Great Yokai War, and considering that the Phoenix Wright games have a knack for juxtaposing brutal murders and slapstick comedy, it's plays to a lot of his strengths. There's a lot there to work with, especially since the game's "visual novel" style puts the emphasis on storytelling rather than, you know, actually playing.

I just hope that Miike forgoes accuracy and doesn't just film Phoenix poking around a crime scene for an hour looking for a clue.


Plus, if nothing else, I can go ahead and take this as official confirmation that we have all as a society said the hell with Apollo Justice.

(via Kotaku)

More From ComicsAlliance