Black Clover Movie - What We Know So Far
Inspired by the immensely popular manga by Yuki Tabata, "Black Clover" is often considered one of the best anime shows of the past decade. The series is set in a kingdom where almost all of the inhabitants have access to some kind of magical power — but the main character of the series, Asta (Dallas Reid), is one of the unfortunate souls that is born without any sort of arcane aptitude. He later comes to possess a powerful five-leafed relic, as well as devil-based anti-magic, which augments his physical prowess.
Asta often comes to blows with Yuno (Micah Solusod), a fellow orphan – who is blessed with an incredible affinity for the magical arts, and a special aplomb when it comes to wind magic – as both yearn to become the next Wizard King. This is not an overt hostility, and much more of a friendly rivalry. Over the course of both the anime and manga, the two characters pick up allies and enemies. They learn of their history, and the threat posed to both them and their kingdom by devils and evil organizations.
However, while fans await news regarding a possible Season 5 of "Black Clover," one simply cannot have a successful anime this good without inspiring a movie somewhere along the line — and now, it looks like one is confirmed. Here's what we know at this point about the upcoming "Black Clover" movie.
When is the release date of the Black Clover movie?
The "Black Clover" movie was originally announced on March 29, 2021 on Twitter. This was exactly one day before the final episode of Season 4 aired in Japan. There is no official release date, as of yet, but speculation and educated guesses place the premiere sometime in late 2021 or early 2022. Season 4 of "Black Clover" started in Japan on December of 2020, so we may be looking at a similar timeframe for the movie.
The future of the anime series, separate from the movie, is currently on hiatus: According to ComicBook.com, the series essentially caught up to the manga in Season 4, and — in order to deal with the major lull in the plot — has elected to not bother with filler material, as some other anime shows have done, and instead simply stop working on new episodes until the manga advances further ahead. Could it be that the series will get a soft reboot, or a new focus, after the "Black Clover" movie release? That remains to be seen, but even if the movie is the last bit of animated "Black Clover" we get for awhile, the manga will continue to march on.
Who are the characters in the Black Clover movie?
Of course, with this being the "Black Clover" movie, we can fully expect to see series regulars like Asta (Dallas Reid), Noelle Silva (Jill Harris), and Yuno (Micah Solusod), but who else might we see in the currently untitled movie?
Considering where they are in the series, we can fully expect the Dark Triad to make some kind of appearance. Their obsession with fully manifesting devils into this world have been a constant threat.
The Dark Triad, of course, are three dark wizards who currently rule the Spade Kingdom, former home of Yuno, using terror and ruthless subjugation. And among the Dark Triad, we can almost definitely assume that Zenon Zogratis (Zeno Robinson), leader of previously mentioned evil mages, will pop up. If referencing the manga, we could also see Liebe (Bryce Papenbrook), Nacht Faust (Max Mittelman), Magna Swing (Ian Sinclair), and Dante Zogratis (Patrick Seitz). We might also see the twin devils of Lilith and Naamah (again, if going by the source material).
What is the plot of the Black Clover movie?
At this point, what we know of the plot for the upcoming "Black Clover" movie can be inferred by the final episode of the anime, and the plot set forth by Yuki Tabata's work. In Episode 170, "The Faraway Future," Asta and Liebe become allies after a devil-binding ritual becomes a devil-befriending ritual (as per Asta's description). The series ended with several characters in both the Black Bulls and the Golden Dawn training in typical anime fashion, with Yuno in particular swearing to defeat Zenon, and Asta vowing to rescue Captain Yami (Christopher R. Sabat).
So what can we expect from the "Black Clover" movie? Considering how the series ended, we should be seeing an epic battle against Zenon. We could also see Asta and Liebe becoming friends, and an end to the "Spade Kingdom" arc. The real question is what will happen with Yuno, considering he is actually the long-lost prince of the former royal house of the Spade Kingdom — that is, if our heroes can defeat Zenon and his Dark Triad.