After an April Fool’s joke went viral last year, about the spirits on Ringu (The Ring) and Ju-On (The Grudge) battling it out, two Japanese studios thought it was actually a great idea. Kadokawa and NBC Universal Japan are now collaborating to bring the idea to life, in the film Sadako vs Kayako. Director Koji Shiraishi (Carved) will be directing the film.
In Ringu (1998) a girl, ruthlessly murdered by her father, seeks vengeance by killing anyone who watches a strange video, with in seven days, unless the viewer can escape the clause. The American version of Ringu, The Ring, was released in 2002 and starred Naomi Watts.
Ju-On (2002) centers on a spirit who marks and pursues anyone who dares to enter her home. The 2004 reboot, The Grudge, directed by Takashi Shimizu, starred Sarah Michelle Geller as Karen, an American living and working as a nurse in Tokyo. Karen comes face to face with the spirit of a woman and child in the home of a patient.
The trailer for the film, which is already in production, shows Kayako’s hand coming out of Sadak0’s infamous well. We can expect to see Sadako vs Kayako some time in late 2016 or early 2017.
