GKIDS has announced release plans for its previously announced acquisition of the original anime feature film The Deer King. The film was originally slated for release in 2020 in Japan, but was ultimately delayed twice due to the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic before being released to Japanese theaters in February of this year.

The film will see preview screenings held in conjunction with Fathom Events on July 13 in the original Japanese and July 14 with a new English dub in selected US theaters, and these preview screenings will also include an exclusive introduction by director Masashi Ando. GKIDS will then handle its own theatrical engagements in selected theaters starting on July 15 and has also released a new English-subtitled teaser trailer promoting the preview screening event, embedded below:

SYNOPSIS

In the aftermath of a brutal war, former soldier Van toils in a mine controlled by the ruling empire. One day, his solitary existence is upended when a pack of wild dogs carrying a deadly and incurable disease attack, leaving only Van and a young girl named Yuna as survivors. Finally free, the pair seek out a simple existence in the countryside but are pursued by nefarious forces. Intent on protecting Yuna at all costs, Van must uncover the true cause of the plague ravaging the kingdom—and its possible cure.

SOURCE: Press Release