Sand Land, a renowned and acclaimed manga by Dragon Ball mangaka Akira Toriyama, will be adapted into a video game.

Sand Land, which was announced during Summer Game Fest, has landed a video game adaptation and released an official trailer. Bandai Namco's video game, developed in Unreal Engine 5, allows players to enter "a mysterious desert world where humans and demons live together." Players will take control of the main character, Beelzebub, as he travels through the huge desert environment in various vehicles, including tanks, fighting human and demonic opponents. Sand Land will be released for the PlayStation 5/PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

 

Sand Land CGI Film Adaptation Is Under Development

Aside from a video game adaptation, Sand Land already has another project in the works. In December 2022, Bandai Namco revealed the manga would receive an animated CGI film adaptation. Toshihisa Yokoshima will direct the film with Hiroshi Kōjina as the directing advisor. Hayashi Mori will write the screenplay, Yoshikazu Iwanami directing the sound with Yugo Kanno as the composer.

A new trailer of Sand Land in April revealed the voice cast, including Mutsumi Tamura, who has worked on The Ancient Magus' Bride and Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, as Beelzebub. Kazuhiro Yamaji, who has portrayed characters in Spy x Family and Attack on Titan, will portray Rao. Chō, who has worked in Log Horizon, will voice Thief. Satoshi Tsurouoka and Nobuo Tobita will join the rest of the cast as General Are and General Zau, respectively.

 

Toriyama created Sand Land after Dragon Ball's conclusion, which ran for a short period in Weekly Shōnen Jump from May to August 2000. The manga follows the Prince of the Underworld, the son of Lucifer, Beelzebub who decides to help General Rao after the king of Sand Land has made it near impossible for the citizens to purchase water. Although Sand Land hasn't received the same level of popularity and notoriety as Dragon Ball, the manga has nonetheless garnered positive reception for its unique characters and world.

At the time of the anime announcement, Toriyama expressed his excitement at seeing his work hit the big screen. "I drew [Sand Land] putting my own likes at the forefront," he said. "The images I've seen still had many unfinished parts, but I never expected this to get a visual adaptation after over 20 years, so this kind of quality is like a dream come true."

While fans will have to wait a little longer to play Sand Land, they can watch the movie adaptation in theaters in Japan on Aug. 18.

Source: YouTube