Having made the rounds at anime cons over the past year, Bandai's official theatrical run for the Escaflowne movie is now rapidly approaching. Scheduled to hit theatres in a wide range of major US and Canadian markets in February 2002, early screenings will find their way to a limited number of theaters prior to the national roll-out. On January 25th, in select major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Vancouver, the Escaflowne movie will make its theatrical debut. Also set to debut on the 25th, Columbia Tristar's acclaimed anime feature Metropolis will go head to head with Escaflowne.

The Escaflowne movie takes the gripping plot of the TV series and retells it in a whole new way, giving the story and its characters a more somber, mature tone. To find out more about the movie's story and its upcoming theatrical run, read the full press release here.