Third Mononoke Film Streams New Trailer Ahead of May 29 Debut
The third film concludes the Mononoke movie trilogy, which has maintained the distinctive visual style and horror-mystery structure of the 2007 TV series while expanding the lore of the inner palace setting.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Trending.
Twin Engine released a new trailer for Mononoke the Movie: Chapter 3: Snake God on Thursday, ahead of its May 29 theatrical debut in Japan. The trailer shows more of the supernatural chaos in the inner palace, with the emperor and priest Hokuto Mizorogi playing larger roles. Aina The End performs the theme song "No Epilogue." New cast members include Miyuki Sawashiro as the Third Empress, Fumi Hirano as Tokiwai, Mariko Honda as Kawa, Yukana as Amanotsubone, and Eiji Takemoto as Saku Mizorogi. Kenji Nakamura returns as general director from the second film, while Tomoaki Koshida directs at Studio Kafka and EOTA. The story follows the Medicine Seller confronting a giant snake-shaped Mononoke called the Snake God. He must discover its three characteristics-form, truth, and reason-before he can slay it. The roots of the conflict lie 150 years in the past, in the true story of the inner palace's birth. The first two films in the trilogy, Phantom in the Rain and The Ashes of Rage, premiered in July 2024 and March 2025 respectively, and are streaming on Netflix.
Twin Engine released the trailer on its YouTube channel. The third film has Kenji Nakamura as chief director, Yasumi Atarashi as scriptwriter, and Kitsuneko Nagata returning as character designer. Tomoaki Koshida, whose previous credits include RPG Real Estate, directs. Yuichi Takahashi reprises as animation character designer and chief animation director. Taku Iwasaki returns as music composer.
Hiroshi Kamiya reprises his role as the Medicine Seller. Takahiro Sakurai voiced the character in the 2007 TV series and was originally set to return for the films. Kamiya replaced him, with the recast decision coinciding with a scandal involving Sakurai having an affair.
The trailer shows the Medicine Seller confronting a giant snake-shaped Mononoke called the Snake God. The story follows Empress Sachiko, voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki, who gives birth to a long-awaited baby boy but dies shortly after. Her regret and anger turn into resentment. Priest Hokuto Mizorogi, voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda, watches events unfold. Unnatural earth tremors occur within the inner palace. A maid is twisted, crushed, and strangled to death. The Medicine Seller must discover the Snake God's three characteristics-form, truth, and reason-before he can slay it. The roots of the conflict lie 150 years in the past.
The first film, Phantom in the Rain, won the Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation at the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. Aina The End performed the theme songs for all three films: "Love Sick" for the first, "Hana Musō" for the second, and "No Epilogue" for the third. The first two films are streaming on Netflix.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network 3rd Mononoke Film Streams New Trailer
- Anime Trending more inner palace chaos unfolds in 3rd mononoke movies pre release trailer