After months of radio silence, Mononoke fans finally have something solid to mark on the calendar: Netflix is dropping Mononoke The Movie: Chapter II — The Ashes of Rage on August 14.
It's been almost six months since the first film brought the psychedelic horror vibes to Western audiences, and while a sequel always felt inevitable, Netflix took its sweet time making it official. Now that it's real, the countdown begins.
The story picks up one month after the events of the first movie, with the Medicine Seller (once again voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) returning to the Ōoku, the inner chambers of the shogun's palace, where another malevolent spirit has popped up to ruin everyone's day. The first film pushed the Medicine Seller to the brink — this one looks ready to do it all over again.
Still no trailer (yet), but we do know the sequel sticks with the franchise's signature look — that dense, surreal, almost-hand-painted animation style that makes everything feel like a fever dream on a scroll.
Kiyotaka Suzuki (Evangelion 3.33) directs, while Kenji Nakamura (Gatchaman Crowds) returns as chief director. Visually, it's chaos in the best way: bright, layered, deliberately weird, and proudly difficult to pin down.
The script this time comes from Yasumi Atarashi, who also contributed to Star Wars: Visions, and the film is produced by Twin Engine, the same studio behind Psycho-Pass, Golden Kamuy, Zom 100, and the upcoming Witch Hat Atelier adaptation. Safe to say, the team knows what they're doing.
If you're new to the series: Mononoke originally spun off from the 2006 anthology series Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, and got its own 12-episode run back in 2007.
Since then, it's inspired stage plays, manga adaptations, and now this movie trilogy. Chapter III is already slated to hit Japan in early 2026, so yeah — the medicine seller isn't going anywhere.
For now, fans just have to wait a little longer — and maybe rewatch Chapter I to prep for whatever cursed spirit is waiting in The Ashes of Rage. Keep an eye out for the trailer. You'll probably need time to emotionally brace anyway.