A third trailer has been released for the upcoming live-action Fullmetal Alchemist adaptation. The movie is based on the manga series by Hiromu Arakawa and the resulting two anime series and centers on two young alchemist brothers: Edward and Alphonse Elric. After losing their mother and with their father AWOL, Ed and Al decide to use the power of alchemy to resurrect their mother. They ultimately fail and in the process, Alphonse loses his body and Ed two limbs. The Fullmetal Alchemist story begins as the brothers set out on a journey to put things right, but end up uncovering a dangerous global conspiracy.

The live-action adaptation is being produced in Japan but is garnering attention from FMA fans across the globe, thanks to its authentic look and impressive action scenes. Live-action anime movies have a dark and troubled history, with the likes of Dragon Ball: Evolution and Avatar: The Last Airbender often considered some of the worst movies ever made - but there is a cautious optimism surrounding FMA, after the release of two previous teaser clips.

The new trailer is the longest so far and features plenty of fresh, unseen footage. More of the Elric Brothers in combat is showcased and a whole host of characters are revealed for the first time - including, Roy Mustang, Winry Rockbell and Riza Hawkeye (or Hawk as the trailer refers to her). The trailer also gives fans a first glimpse at enemies Lust and Envy.

One thing fans of the original manga or anime series will notice is that the live-action FMA movie appears to be incredibly faithful to the source material. Although how precisely the plot will be followed remains to be seen, the movie's visual style and character design are as close to the originals as one could reasonably expect them to be. The scene between Winry and Ed also hints at a similar sense of humor will be present.

Understandably of course, there remains a sense of skepticism as to whether the crazy world of FMA can be successfully executed in live-action, especially with the recent commercial troubles of Ghost in the Shell and the controversy surrounding Netflix's forthcoming Death Note movie. Those who watch the trailer may also notice that the visual effects aren't quite up to par with those seen in Hollywood productions.

However, one of the biggest criticisms of live-action anime adaptations is that they stray too far from the source material, alienating fans of the original works. Judging by the footage released so far, this certainly isn't the case with Fullmetal Alchemist and it's easy to see why some fans think that this could finally be the first decent interpretation of an anime and manga series.

Fullmetal Alchemist is set to premiere in Japan on December 1st. More news on a worldwide release as we get it.

Source: Warner Bros.