Bandai Namco Filmworks unveiled a key visual, a new trailer, and the May 23 premiere date for the fourth installment in the six-part Princess Principal: Crown Handler sequel film series on Friday.
The third film in the series debuted in Japan in April 2023. The first film was originally scheduled to premiere in April 2020 but was delayed due to COVID-19, eventually releasing in February 2021. The second film followed with a September 2021 debut in Japan.
Sentai Filmworks has acquired the rights to the entire six-film series and describes the plot of the first film as follows:
After an attempted assassination of the Queen, the Kingdom is gripped by a surge in spy hunts. In response, Control—the Commonwealth’s covert operations unit—suspects a double agent within the royal family.
To uncover the truth, they dispatch the elite espionage team known as “Team White Pigeon.” However, in a world where trust is fleeting and deception lurks at every turn, Ange and her comrades face ever-mounting peril.
Princess Principal: Crown Handler
Masaki Tachibana (Barakamon, .hack//Quantum) returns from the original TV series to direct the films at Actas. Noboru Kimura (Gundam Build Divers, Solty Rei) is overseeing and writing the scripts, taking over from the TV anime’s writer, Ichirō Ōkouchi (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress).
Kouhaku Kuroboshi (Kino’s Journey, Sky Girls) continues as the original character designer, with Yukie Akiya (Celestial Method, Code:Breaker) adapting the designs for animation.
However, Kimitake Nishio (Moetan, ToHeart2) is now solely credited as chief animation director. Yuki Kajiura (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero) returns to compose the music, with Yoshikazu Iwanami as sound director.
Void_Chords featuring Yui Mugino performs the opening theme, “LIES & TIES,” while the five main cast members provide the ending theme song, “Nowhere Land.”
Sentai Filmworks had previously licensed the Princess Principal television anime for streaming during the summer 2017 season and for home video distribution.
