After their release in various countries such as France, Spain, Latin America, Portugal, South Korea, Canada and Taiwan, the films of the Diabolik trilogy - the legendary Italian comic series conceived by Angela and Luciana Giussani reimagined for the big screen in edited by the brothers Marco and Antonio Manetti, better known as the Manetti Bros - will be distributed in the United States on behalf of Mompracem and Rai Cinema thanks to an agreement signed between Beta Cinema and Kino Lorber. The two directors recognize the release of the three films in American cinemas as «a great personal satisfaction», and continue by affirming: «This character, so famous by us, is less known to the American public and we are proud that they can get to know him better through our movies. We are very curious to see how viewers will react and if they will love this beautiful character as much as we do.
Produced by Mompracem and Rai Cinema, the King of Terror trilogy also benefits from the production contribution of Carlo Macchiatella, Manetti Bros, Piergiorgio Bellocchio and Paolo Del Brocco; in association with Astorina and distributed in Italy on behalf of 01 Distribution.
The filming of the second chapter of the trilogy entitled "Diabolik - Ginko on the attack!" - which took place "back to back" with the filming of the third - were carried out in Emilia Romagna between October 2021 and May 2022 , relying on a meticulous research operation for what concerns the scenography, locations, costumes and setting. This happened through the scouting of streets, buildings, hotels and restaurants in perfect 60s style, placing great care in the same way in restoring the typical habits and lifestyle of the time. As the title suggests, in this episode a cunning trap by Inspector Ginko could mess up the seemingly perfect plan devised by Diabolik and Eva Kant, even putting their bond to the test.
The first episode of the trilogy - simply "Diabolik" - we remember instead for his nominations for eleven David di Donatello and eight Nastri d'Argento and for having won, in both awards, the prize for the best original song with "The depth of the abyss” by Manuel Agnelli.
All that remains now is to wait for further news on the third and final episode - the filming of which took place in Calabria and has recently been completed - even in the face of this promising large-scale distribution.
John Scanu