Entertainment

See Ed and Al in a New Live-Action 'Fullmetal Alchemist' Photo

Steam, trains, and steamy trains.

CBR.com

Following the first teaser in November for the live-action film adaptation of the beloved manga and anime, Fullmetal Alchemist, the Warner Bros. Japan website released a new still photo from the production on its website. It features the Elric brothers standing on a train platform close to the steam locomotive, looking pretty badass and spot-on in the depiction’s accuracy.

It would appear that the brothers might be at a train platform in Central City, the capital of Amestris, the fictional country prominently featured in the series — or perhaps they’re in one of the many other stations throughout the country.

The elder — but much shorter — brother, Edward, stands in the foreground. (Note: In the anime, Ed starts out the story at 15 years old, but he has been aged up to 20 for the movie.) Ed is a government sanctioned alchemist with the title “Fullmetal Alchemist,” ironically assigned because both his leg and arm are made from steel automail prosthetics following a horrific accident in his childhood.

That same horrific accident led to Ed’s younger brother — the hulking mass of armor behind him — losing his entire body. Ed had to sacrifice one of his limbs just to bind his brother’s soul to a suit of armor before the boy died completely.

Here’s a clear look at the image, featuring the two maimed but incredibly powerful brothers:

Ed and Al Elric standing at a train platform.

CBR.com

The very accessible and deeply beloved anime series follows the adventures of these brothers as they travel around Amestris hunting for a mysterious object known as the “Philosopher’s Stone,” which is said to amplify the scientific magic so prominent in the series. It’s ultimately a quest to restore their bodies, but it also includes a number of other missions and sidequests of sorts, many of which will likely be cut from a movie attempting to condense the story into a feature-length piece.

All in all, the photo makes us very excited for this adaptation, which really nails the depiction of the brothers with incredibly detailed accuracy. Even Al’s suit of armor is a physical suit worn by an actor rather than manufactured digitally with CGI. Their height differences are also super accurate — which, weirdly enough, comes up in the anime far more often than you might think. Ed has something of a Napoleon complex, and Al is just a total sweetheart; you know, despite being a towering mass of metal.

The trailer for Fullmetal Alchemist mentions a release of Winter 2017, with some sources reporting a specific release for Japan in December 2017. There’s no word on when or if the U.S. will get its own version, whether subbed or dubbed.