The Three Investigators
are back and in this reboot subtitled, Descent of the Dragon, the cast has changed. From American to German talents, the reasoning is because this popular book franchise didn’t wane by much over the decades in other countries, whereas in America, it’s been largely forgotten. It’s sad, as I grew up on these books over Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
The last two feature films were released back in 2007 (Secret of Skeleton Island) and 2009 (Secret of Haunted Castle). These adaptations of the novels aren’t hugely successful, and perhaps that’s because Terror Castle was the book title rather than film, which may have led some to not realise a sequel was made. Although much time has passed since then, 2023 marks the possible return of the series at least in Germany. In that country, this film is titled Die Drei ??? – Erbe des Drachen.
With Sony Pictures local division involved, I’m hopeful it won’t remain a regional release for long. Fans can reach out to this studio through social media to ask for a wider release. I didn’t notice until information about this film was brought up recently on Reddit, and I feel they deserve a new life back in the country where the story was first penned.
Arcanamusica, the multidimensional media-mix collaboration project from Shueisha and avex, will be made into a manga this summer.
Streaming on The Film Detective 11am EST