Film - The Deer King

A pandemic wreaks havoc on a fantasy world in Masashi Ando’s long-awaited directorial debut, in cinemas from 27th July 2022. Watch the trailer for The Deer King...

Press Release

With a proud reputation of raising the profile of the greatest auteurs in Japanese animation, Anime Limited are delighted to announce that they are bringing to the big screen the directorial debut of a man who has made his name doing the same. Masashi Ando worked as Chief Animation Director on landmark films from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s legendary Princess Mononoke to the modern day sensation Your Name, and now his fantasy epic The Deer King will carve its own legend in selected cinemas nationwide from 27th July 2022.

In the years following a vicious war, the Empire of Zol now controls the land and citizens of rival Aquafa – except for Aquafa’s Fire Horse Territory, where wild dogs that once carried the deadly Black Wolf Fever continue to roam free. When a pack of dogs race through a Zol-controlled mine, Van, an enslaved former soldier, and a young girl named Yuna are both bitten, but manage to escape as the sole survivors of the attack. Finally free, Van and Yuna seek out a simple, peaceful existence in the countryside. But as the deadly disease once again runs rampant, they find themselves at the crossroads of a struggle much larger than any one nation.

A film that’s been years in the making but is all the more resonant today, The Deer King is the story of an ancient people caught in the midst of a pandemic. When the dreaded Black Wolf Fever returns to ravage the land, old political scars draw new blood when two opposing nations have different plans for the man who could hold the secret to the cure: Van Gamsa, a former war hero and one of two sole survivors of a savage attack on the mine where he was enslaved. Van wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his surrogate daughter Yuna, but when they become the targets of medical desperation, political fanaticism, and the mystery behind the pack of black wolves sweeping the land, Van will have to fight once more.

The rich, resonant and enthralling world of The Deer King is brought to the big screen in this stunning adaptation of the Japanese fantasy novels by award-winning writer Nahoko Uehashi, the original author of the celebrated Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit series. An enthralling adventure for fans of fantasy and anime alike, The Deer King is a more than worthy addition to the man who helped shape not just Princess Mononoke, but the world of Japanese animation as a whole.



The Deer King will be shown in selected cinemas nationwide from 27th July 2022 in Japanese with English subtitles, as well as an English-language dub from 28th July 2022. The film is rated 15.

For more information and to book tickets, please visit https://www.deerkingfilm.co.uk/

Image - The Deer King Production Team