Fathom Entertainment and VIZ Media have announced that the first three episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity will receive limited theatrical premiere screenings in U.S. theatres from June 25, 2026 to June 29, 2026. The fourth and final cour of the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime series is scheduled to premiere in Japan in July 2026.
© Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot
The early U.S. premiere screenings for The Calamity will be released in Japanese with English subtitles and in English dubbed format. It will feature an exclusive behind‑the‑scenes conversation recording with Bleach creator Tite Kubo, chief director and co-series composer Tomohisa Taguchi (Akudama Drive, The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes director and scriptwriter), and series director Hikaru Murata (Previously co-chief episode director, director of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Conflict).
Other staff include Masaki Hiramatsu (The Garden of Sinners scriptwriter) as co-series composer, Masashi Kudo (Bleach) as character designer, Saori Goda (Akudama Drive) as color designer, Yoshio Tanioka (Akudama Drive) as art director, Kazuhiro Yamada (Akudama Drive) as compositing director, and Shiro Sagisu (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, Bleach) as music composer. PIERROT FILMS is in charge of the animation production, with the series having previously been credited to PIERROT.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is the anime adaptation of the last story arc of Kubo‘s Bleach manga series, where the Soul Society faces off against Quincy king Yhwach and his army. It started with its first cour in 2022, with 2023’s Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Separation and 2024’s Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Conflict following after. Hulu streams the series in the U.S., while Disney+ streams it in select countries and territories outside of Asia.
The Bleach manga was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from August 7, 2001 to August 22, 2016. A total of 74 tankobon volumes were published in total. A special one-shot was released in 2021.
The first Bleach TV anime series aired from 2004 to 2012. The anime also inspired four anime films between 2006 to 2010.
© Tite Kubo/Shueisha, TV TOKYO, dentsu, Pierrot
VIZ Media releases the Bleach manga series in English and describes the main synopsis of the first volume as:
Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn’t change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family; but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits and, along with Rukia–who is slowly regaining her powers–it’s Ichigo’s job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace.
Tickets for the three-episode U.S premiere screenings of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity will be available online, starting on May 29, 2026.
Source: press release
