Chainsaw Man fans are a little more than a month away from experiencing the film arc continuation of the anime, Reze Arc, in theaters. Before its release, Studio Mappa’s presidents spoke about why they chose to adapt the manga arc into a film and provided an update on the anime’s possible second season.
Speaking with Anime News Network at Anime Expo 2025, Mappa head Manabu Ohtsuka and vice president Hiroya Hasegawa gave their reasoning for making Reze Arc a movie instead of an episodic second season fans can stream from home.
“From a business standpoint, we want to have as many people as possible enjoy The Reze Arc. When we did that, we aimed to maximize our business. It should go theatrical. However, with Season One of the series, we were able to work closely with Crunchyroll, and they’ve done a fabulous job,” Ohtsuka said.
“At the same time, those viewers and subscribers of Crunchyroll may not necessarily go to theaters. They might be a little more at home-based. We want to reach a different, broader audience. We’re able to team up with Sony Pictures, which would be reaching such people.”
When asked if revenue shares were another factor in Reze Arc‘s theatrical release, Ohtsuka said it was less of a factor as was widening the anime’s fanbase.
Ohtsuka also clarified to ANN a previous statement made in an interview with Tokyo Keizai, where Chainsaw Man was compared to another megapopular Mappa anime, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Ohtsuka said the latter “didn’t have the same level of impact” and left him “feeling unsatisfied.” At the time, Ohtsuka’s comments made fans question whether a follow-up to Chainsaw Man would happen. Now, Ohtsuka told ANN that his comments were blown out of proportion.
“This isn’t a criticism of the article or Tokyo Keizai, but it was never our intention to compare Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man in any way. We just thought we could have squeezed so much more out of Chainsaw Man‘s IP and the manga. There is so much room for improvement, and that’s something we are striving for. That’s our goal. There’s only a bright future, and that’s what we’re going for.”
Jujutsu Kaisen also had a theatrical release for Jujutsu Kaisen 0, back in 2022, which performed well domestically and abroad. It also had a compilation film of its second-season anime arc, Hidden Inventory/Premature Death, which was shown in theaters, earning $2.5 million in the US, according to ANN. Chainsaw Man appears to be following suit, with mooted plans to similarly drum up hype for the series.
© Mappa
Crunchyroll recapped Chainsaw Man’s first season to lure in wide-eyed newcomers with two compilation films on the streamer. Those features, appropriately titled Chainsaw Man – The Compilation and Chainsaw Man – The Compilation: Part II, will be released in Japan on September 5, with plans to make them available in the U.S. and elsewhere later this month.
／
原作の巻末エピソードを新規映像化した
「ちぇんそーびより」の場面写真到着💥
＼
『チェンソーマン 総集篇』
📡9/5(金)21:00 ABEMAにて独占先行・無料配信https://t.co/AuWm6qGTGg#劇場版チェンソーマン 𝟗.𝟏𝟗(金)公開🎬#チェンソーマン #chainsawman pic.twitter.com/gcyY5v1AGq
— チェンソーマン【公式】 (@CHAINSAWMAN_PR) August 27, 2025
In addition to catching as many folks up to speed before Reze Arc‘s premiere, Mappa also announced an anime adaptation of manga creator Tatsuki Fujimoto‘s slice-of-life, end-of-volume short-panel Chainsaw Man stories to give folks who are deeper into the manga a treat. While Crunchyroll has yet to announce when that will make its way beyond Japan, it may be in the lead up to or following the film’s release.
／#劇場版チェンソーマン
入場者プレゼント第一弾決定💥
＼
🎁#藤本タツキ 先生描き下ろしの表紙カバーイラスト付き小冊子『恋・花・チェンソー・ガイド』
🗓️9/19(金)各上映劇場配布開始
▼詳細はこちらhttps://t.co/aU7qj28S1L
𝟗.𝟏𝟗(金)公開🎬#チェンソーマン #chainsawman pic.twitter.com/r5rpmi03qd
— チェンソーマン【公式】 (@CHAINSAWMAN_PR) September 5, 2025
ANN also pressed Mappa’s executives with a question on every fan’s lips: What’s happening with season two? Unfortunately, their answers were wishy-washy at best…but they didn’t say no.
“We’re always thinking about what’s the best way to deliver Chainsaw Man to the fans who love the franchise. That’s what’s always on our minds,” Ohtsuka said. “But how we’re going to do it, if we’re going to do it, we’ll announce it when we announce it. We can’t talk about it.”
“As Ohtsuka-san mentioned, [Reze Arc] is a continuation of the first season. We are being loyal to the original content. We asked ourselves, ‘How are we going to do it?’ We thought that the cinema was the best way to deliver the Reze Arc. After Reze, if we are going to create more Chainsaw Man, we’ll probably follow from there,” Hasegawa said. “And then we’ll reevaluate and think, ‘Are we going to do it as a series? Are we going to do it as a film?’ It’s another question we’ll be asking ourselves at that time.”
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc hits theaters in Japan on September 19, before hitting the U.S. on October 29.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.