Black Clover: Sword Of The Wizard King - What We Know So Far
Ever since the announcement of a "Black Clover" movie in the spring of 2021, fan excitement has been in overdrive regarding what the film will explore. Based on the popular manga series by Yūki Tabata, "Black Clover" the series has faithfully adapted most of the original volumes with an incredible amount of style and dynamic storytelling. The show is centered around Asta (Dallas Reid) and his foster brother Yuno Grinberryall (Micah Solusod), who both vie to become the Wizard King in a world where magic is a part of everyday life. Since Asta cannot use the land's magical powers, a tense rivalry emerges between the two in their quest to claim the title. Several fantastic supporting characters round out the story including Noelle Silva (Jill Harris), who may be the best "Black Clover" character according to fans, and Yami Sukehiro (Christopher Sabat), Captain of the Black Bull Squad.
The show's final episode, "The Faraway Future," did not have a full closure moment as we come to expect with series finales (per Comicbook.com). Instead, it acted as a cliffhanger of sorts for the movie, now officially titled "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King." With so much story left to be told, here is everything we know about the film so far.
What is the plot of Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King?
The plot for "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King" is naturally being kept under wraps. We left off with both the Golden Dawn and the Black Bulls undergoing intensive training but with who and what form this war will take is not 100% certain. Yuno gave a passionate plea to defeat Zenon Zogratis (Zeno Robinson), his sworn archenemy. Asta bonded with Liebe (Bryce Papenbrook), and also made a sacred promise to rescue Yami no matter what it took. Despite the fact that Yūki Tabata has a hard time working on the character of Yuno, we can likely expect some intense moments between him and Zenon in the movie.
By far the biggest amount of speculation surrounds what the film will cover. Netflix Anime recently revealed whether or not "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King" will be an anime original. They tweeted, "the movie is an original story about the Wizard King, supervised by original 'Black Clover' author Yūki Tabata!" The fact that the creator is only overseeing the production is telling, with some fans pondering exactly what the timeline will be. On the "Black Clover" subreddit page, Redditor u/AugustusKiraClover replied to a post asking if it would be a prequel and shared, "Yes, apparently, it's about one of the prev. wiz kings named 'Conrad'. The design is done by Tabata, so at some point the movie can link up with [the] manga's timeline."
Who is starring in Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King?
We can expect to see many of the characters we have come to know so well from the series show up in "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King." Dallas Reid, Jill Harris, and Micah Solusod will likely all return to lend their voices to Asta, Noelle, and Yuno respectively. Unless the feature goes in a totally opposite direction, The Dark Triad will potentially be on board too, with Zeno Robinson returning as Zenon and Bryce Papenbrook as Liebe. But with so much still mysterious about the movie, there is the possibility of totally new characters as well.
This was confirmed with the reveal of a new character named Conrad Leto, who will be voiced by Toshihiko Seki for the Japanese film release (per Anime News Network). Seki has a long-running career as an anime voice artist. One of his most memorable roles was as Naruto's Iruka Umino, as well as Muzan Kibutsuji in "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," based on the popular "Demon Slayer" manga and anime. The "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King" official press site describes Conrad as "the former Magic Emperor of the current Magic Emperor 'Julius Novachrono.'" This is an intriguing tidbit of information as the new character features prominently in the film's teaser trailer.
What's the release date of Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King?
What would become "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King" was first announced on Funimation's official Twitter page on March 29, 2021. This came one day before the final episode of the series aired. After a year and a half of waiting, the release date for the movie has been set for March 31, 2023, on Netflix (via Crunchyroll). It was also revealed that in addition to streaming, the film would also premiere the same day in Japanese theaters. This will afford the series' home country an opportunity to see all of the dazzling anime on a big screen.
Same-day releases in theaters and on-demand platforms are not typical with anime movies, such as the case of the anticipated "Suzume no Tojimari," which will play out on cinema screens first. But this certainly allows international fans to immediately see how well the film maintains the captivating storytelling of the series. The excitement and suspense will finally pay off next spring.
Is there a trailer for Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King?
In addition to the movie's release date, Netflix Anime also released a teaser trailer for "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King." The promo starts with images from the "Black Clover" anime which set the overall mood of what is to come. After explaining the central themes of the series with text such as "It's a battle to decide who will be the Wizard King" establishing the backstory, quotes like "This is the day that I will change this kingdom" eludes to both the series long struggle between Asta and Yuno or possibly Yuno's impending battle with Zenon for the Spade Kingdom.
But the most perplexing aspect of the trailer is that we see King Julius Novachrono (Robert McCollum) all grown up, which further points to the timeline speculation that has confused fans for over a year. But it would make sense that this is after his fight with Licht (Jerry Jewell) which saw him reincarnate in a childlike appearance. It is hard to tell if what we will get is a prequel or some sort of additional story taking place after the events of the "Black Clover" series finale, but from the looks of it, the movie will be action-packed.
Where to watch previous Black Clover anime installments
Based on the opening moments of the teaser, it seems like "Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King" is reaching out to those who may be unfamiliar with the manga or anime series. The text establishes the central theme of the struggle between Asta and Yuno, but it would still be a good idea to catch up on the show. Thankfully, Crunchyroll has every single season in order available for streaming. The streamer has three different subscription plans available priced at $7.99, $9.99, and $14.99 respectively. Each plan also comes with a 14-day free trial.
There are 170 total episodes of "Black Clover," so this would be an epic binge that is certainly worth it before the film drops on March 31. The first three seasons are the longest, with 51 episodes each in Seasons 1 and 2, 52 episodes in the 3rd season, and 16 in the final season. Although the last episode of Season 4 serves as a tentative series finale, "Black Clover" Season 5 has been rumored. As revealed by Comicbook.com, the reason for this is the continuation of the manga in addition to the series nearly catching up with the last released volume once the writing for Season 4 was completed. Until a future announcement, going through all the episodes before the movie arrives is well worth the time investment.