There are some video games whose path to becoming multimedia franchises seems obvious. Lollipop Chainsaw was never one of them.

This is, after all, a game about a cheerleader from a family of zombie hunters who fights the undead with a chainsaw while carrying her boyfriend’s still-living severed head around with her. And yet Juliet Starling is suddenly everywhere again.

A new game is coming. An anime is in development. And now Lollipop Chainsaw is officially becoming a live-action theatrical film.

The movie was revealed at Tokyo Game Show

NADA Holdings and Dragami Games announced the live-action film during Tokyo Game Show 2026. Film producers Kirk Shaw of Ambitious Entertainment and Robert Franke of Orange Chariot appeared during the event alongside Lollipop Chainsaw project producer Takafumi Yuki.

The companies have described the goal as making a movie that retains the unmistakable personality of the game while also functioning as an action-horror-comedy for audiences unfamiliar with it. That combination is essential. A Lollipop Chainsaw adaptation that removed the outrageous humour, colour and deliberate excess would barely be Lollipop Chainsaw at all. At this stage, however, there are some important things that have not been announced.

There is no confirmed director. There is no announced cast. There is no release date. And despite some reports circulating online, the official announcement does not currently confirm an MPA rating.

 

This is much bigger than one movie

The film announcement makes more sense when viewed alongside what has been happening with the franchise over the past two years. The original game was released in 2012, created around Juliet Starling and a deliberately ridiculous combination of zombie horror, cheerleading and grindhouse comedy. In 2024 it returned as Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP.

By June 2026, Dragami Games announced that RePOP alone had passed 400,000 units sold, while the overall Lollipop Chainsaw series had surpassed 1.5 million.  The revival is now accelerating.

 

Lollipop Chainsaw 2: Back2Back

On 17 September, Dragami officially revealed the title of the brand-new sequel: Lollipop Chainsaw 2: Back2Back.

It is scheduled for 2027, with PlayStation 5 confirmed as a platform. Juliet returns in a new outfit and the developers have described the game as a completely new entry rather than another remaster.

Hajime Tabata, known for work on Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy XV, is involved as a co-producer through JP UNIVERSE.

The new game is also being developed with people who worked on the scenario and design of the original title.

 

And there is still an anime coming

The anime is not a new September announcement. NADA Holdings and Dragami Games first confirmed in July 2025 that an anime adaptation was being developed alongside a new game. The September 2026 film announcement confirms that the anime remains in production. There is still no announced release date, studio or voice cast.

What about James Gunn and Suda51? This is another area where accuracy matters.

Goichi Suda and James Gunn both played important roles in the original 2012 game. The current team publicly thanked them during the Tokyo Game Show presentation. That does not mean either has been announced as part of the new film.

No such involvement has been confirmed. For now, the story is already big enough without adding names that are not officially attached.

Lollipop Chainsaw has gone from cult PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 oddity to a franchise simultaneously developing a new game, anime and live-action movie. Juliet Starling apparently wasn’t finished with the zombies after all.