Mandalay nabs rights to 'Full Metal Panic'

April 06, 2009 Mandalay Pictures has acquired theatrical rights to and will develop a big-screen version of "Full Metal Panic," a Japanese manga series that blends action, comedy and high school romance. The property derives from writer Shoji Gatoh's series about a teenage anti-terrorist commando named Sousuke Sagara who is given the mission to protect a high-school girl with mystical powers. Efron, already a heartthrob among the teen audiences to whom the project could appeal, is also honing the action-adventure side of his career with a potential attachment to the Warner Bros. adventure "Jonny Quest."

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