Summary
Knights of the Zodiacdefinitely wasn’t a critical success, but at least the adaptation decided to spare certain characters from the damage. The film, based on the hugely popular anime of the same name, was one ofSony Pictures’ biggest flops in 2023. Despite high expectations and a promising cast, the story ultimately failed to deliver what the fans of the original series were hoping for. However, there were a few glaring omissions from thecast ofKnights of the Zodiacthat meant certain characters escaped unharmed.
Although fans might have been hoping thatKnights of the Zodiacwould kickstart a live-action series, any hopes for the future of this franchise were seemingly dead on arrival. It looks very unlikely that aKnights of the Zodiacsequelwill ever happen, which means that some characters may have avoided the live-action treatment altogether. While this is a shame, because these characters are filled with potential, perhaps remaining in their animated form is best for everyone.
Knights Of The Zodiac Did Not Include The Other Bronze Saints
Many Characters Were Missing From The Film Entirely
The Bronze Saints might be the lowest-ranking saints in Athena’s army, but they’re among themost interesting characters in the whole show. They don’t have complete mastery over the Cosmo essence, meaning their powers aren’t as strong as the characters thatKnights of the Zodiacdecided to focus on, but their stories are just as interesting; perhaps even more so because they don’t have magic to rely on. But since the film decided to focus more closely on the anime’s protagonists, there simply wasn’t enough room to include these characters too.
Without these characters, the story misses the enormous scope of these armies that’s necessary to really feel the stakes.
However, excluding the Bronze Saints does make the scale of the story feel much lower. Of the 88 Saints, 48 of these are Bronze Saints - constituting a huge majority. Without these characters, the story misses the enormous scope of these armies that’s necessary to really feel the stakes. This is one of the manychangesKnights of the Zodiacmakesthat ultimately deterred fans from the movie. There’s so much backstory and character depth to this world that didn’t come across in the runtime that was allowed.
The Other Bronze Saints Escaped Ikku’s Fate
Skipping over the Bronze Saints was a bad idea, but that doesn’t mean that their inclusion would’ve made the film any better. It seems likeKnights of the Zodiacwas doomed to fail anyway, so it was for the best that the Bronze Saints weren’t ruined in the process. The Bronze Saints encompass some ofthe anime’s most beloved characters- Andromeda Shun, Dragon Shiryu, Pegasus Koga - and keeping them away from this project means that audiences’ perception of them hasn’t been ruined.
In the original manga, only 10 Bronze Saints appeared.
While some traces of the Bronze Saints were inevitable, theKnights of the Zodiacfilm ultimately did everything possible to avoid writing them into the story. The character of Ikku/Nero was completely detached from the Bronze Saints in the live-action adaptation, removing everything that makes his character interesting and transforming him into a generic henchman instead. This is the fate that might have been awaiting the other Bronze Saints if they had been adapted into the story.
