Oscar-Winner Chloé Zhao Launches Kodansha Studios To Create Live-Action Adaptations of Popular Manga

By Elijah Gonzalez | November 4, 2025 | 2:47pm

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Oscar-Winner Chloé Zhao Launches Kodansha Studios To Create Live-Action Adaptations of Popular Manga

Two-time Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao and producer Nicolas Gonda are teaming up to open Kodansha Studios, a new Hollywood outfit aimed at creating live-action movies and TV series based on publisher Kodansha’s manga and novel properties. Zhao, who directed Best Picture winner Nomadland, The Rider, and this year’s Hamnet, will act as Chief Creative Officer, while Gonda will be the President and Chief Operations Officer. Zhao and Gonda have an existing production company, Book of Shadows, which will continue to operate separately.

“I grew up reading and drawing manga. I love being a part of the fandoms and I feel a deep sense of belonging with people around the world who share their love for these characters and stories,” said Zhao in a statement to Deadline. “Kodansha has an unparalleled library of manga and novels cultivated by master storytellers just waiting to be brought to life onscreen. By connecting these brilliant authors with their filmmaker counterparts internationally, we can empower both parties while driving a wave of exceptional storytelling for audiences all over the world.”

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Kodansha is one of the biggest manga and novel publishers in Japan, with a roster of over 4,000 works that includes Attack on Titan, Akira, Ashita no Joe, Vegabond, Tokyo Revengers, Fairy Tale, Devilman, Kaiji, Gachiakuta, Chihayafuru, Parasyte, Mushishi, Initial D, Land of the Lustrous, and more.

CEO of Kodansha, Yoshinobu Noma, said the following about the establishment of the studio: “Guided by our corporate mission, ‘Inspire Impossible Stories,’ we are constantly seeking new avenues to deliver the rich, diverse narratives originating from Japan to a global audience. The establishment of Kodansha Studios represents a pivotal moment – and a new chapter – in the relationship between Japanese publishers and Hollywood. This studio is our commitment to accelerating direct partnerships with premier global artists, producers, and partner studios.”

Beyond her critically acclaimed films like Nomadland, The Rider, and the upcoming Hamnet, Zhao is familiar with big-budget comic adaptations, having directed The Eternals. As for Gonda, he has produced more than 20 films, including Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life.

Given the largely negative response to many live-action adaptations of anime and manga, it will be interesting to see if Kodansha Studios will be able to tap into what makes certain adaptations, like Netflix’s One Piece, stand out compared to the many more Dragonball Evolutions of the world. It will probably help if they lean into many of the publisher’s more “grounded” series, like Vegabond or Chihayafuru, some of which have already received some form of live-action adaptation in Japan. Regardless, Kodansha’s move ties in with the increasingly global outlook within the anime and manga industry, as these media continue to gain popularity around the world.