Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo (Japanese: バッド・ルーテナント:トウキョウ) is a 2026 action thriller film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Daisuke Tengan. A co-production of the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and France, it is the third installment in the Bad Lieutenant film series, following Bad Lieutenant (1992) and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), and stars Shun Oguri, Lily James, Shotaro Mamiya, Liv Morgan, Jun Kunimura, and Hiroshi Tachi.
The film had its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival on September 14. It will be theatrically released in Japan by Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan on October 23. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Contents
Premise
A Tokyo police officer, and compulsive gambler, becomes involved in a complex investigation when a mysterious FBI agent arrives in Japan following the disappearance of a politician's daughter.
Cast
Shun Oguri
Lily James
Shotaro Mamiya
Liv Morgan
Shūhei Nomura
Nanase Nishino
Yuka Kouri
Takanori Iwata
Keisuke Watanabe
Hideo Nakano
Jun Murakami
Jun Kunimura
Hiroshi Tachi (Special appearance)
Production
Development
In July 2021, film producer Edward R. Pressman announced in collaboration with his son Sam Pressman that a series of sequels set in various locations around the world including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Argentina, and France are in development. The filmmakers confirmed that work on the scripts is ongoing with foreign studios also collaborating on the projects; explaining that each script will follow corrupt law enforcement in different geographical locations.
By April of 2025, a third installment titled Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo was officially announced as being in development. Directed by Takashi Miike from a script written by Daisuke Tengan, the plot centers around a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Officer who is involved in corrupt gambling and finds himself being investigated by an FBI agent for the disappearance of the daughter of a political figure. All the while, a deviant killer who operates in yakuza underworld follows each of their actions. Principal photography commenced in May of the same year; Shun Oguri stars as the next titular character, with the supporting cast including Lily James, and Liv Morgan. CEO of Pressman Films, Sam Pressman stated: "Director Miike brings a fearless new vision to the Bad Lieutenant, a character defined by the auteur. Just as maestros Ferrara and Herzog delivered films as radically different as their own voices, Miike’s adaptation is unrelentingly wild and unique. My father Edward R. Pressman, always believed this story of corruption, both of police and the human soul, has a global resonance. To realize this next evolution now in Tokyo...is both an honor and a dream come true.”
The project is a joint-venture production between Japan and U.S. film studios including Pressman Films, Recorded Picture Company, Nippon TV, TF1, and OLM; while Neon will act as the distributing company. Jeremy Thomas, Sam Pressman, Naoaki Kitajima, and Misako Saka serve as producers.
Filming
Principal photography and initial filming took place in Japan in May 2025.
Marketing
In March of 2026, marketing commenced with the first official movie poster released in Japan.
Release
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2026, and is set to be released on October 23, 2026 in Japan.
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
