Sekiro: No Defeat director: trailer spoils Wolf’s iconic fight

Kenichi Kutsuna, director of the upcoming Sekiro: No Defeat anime adaptation of FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, produced by Qzil.la, with the limited theatrical release produced by ARCH and Kadokawa Productions, says the anime’s latest trailer, released on September 3, right before the theatrical release on September 4, contains a spoiler he did not approve.

The trailer contains a spoiler that could potentially ruin the theatrical release for fans

The director blamed producer ARCH for this gaffe, as Kutsuna did not sign off on teasing the introductory fight sequence between the protagonist Wolf and antagonist Genichiro. Kutsuna pleaded with fans not to watch the trailer and instead watch the limited three-week Japanese theatrical release, because it contained a “spoiler.”

The trailer in question was released on September 3, 2026, and featured a one-minute sequence of Wolf fighting Genichiro, similar to the prologue in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The spoiler in question is Wolf losing his left arm a few seconds before the end of the trailer.

Kutsuna says he wanted audiences to see that scene for the first time in theaters, not on a phone screen the night before. The fight sequence was posted by the Kadokawa Anime YouTube channel under the title “The Battle in the Silvergrass Fields.” The fight carried through to the final beat, with cuts in between, and was posted the night before the theatrical release began in Japan.

A production company-led gaffe

Normally, directors approve marketing cuts and trailers before they go live, but that wasn't the case here, as that approval apparently didn't happen. Kutsuna candidly admitted this publicly within mere hours of the trailer going live.

He responded to the Sekiro: No Defeat trailer posted by the Sekiro: No Defeat X account. In his statement, he named production company ARCH, not distributor Kadokawa, as the cause of the negligence. Kenichi Kutsuna stated on X:

“I’m afraid it’s too late now, but there are no story spoilers. However, as a directorial device, a scene that shouldn’t be spoiled has been uploaded to the internet. The director’s wish is that you avoid watching this video and go to the theater instead.”

He followed up by naming ARCH for the negligence, stating:

“By the way, this unfortunate incident was caused by the negligence of the production company ARCH. Kadokawa bears no responsibility whatsoever, so if you have any complaints, please direct them to ARCH.”

For the creation of Sekiro: No Defeat, three companies sit on the production committee. Qzil.la handles the animation, while ARCH and Kadokawa handle production and distribution.

This can easily be chalked up to an organizational lapse, as no one hacked anything. Additionally, this is not the first time the production has run into a gaffe. Earlier in 2025, the project’s committee had to announce in writing that no generative AI would be used in the production of Sekiro: No Defeat after many fans pointed out that Qzil.la had been involved with AI and assumed the hand-drawn adaptation of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice might follow the same route.

Despite this, neither party has made a formal statement. Both Kadokawa Productions and ARCH have remained silent and have not addressed director Kutsuna's comments. What’s more, the trailer is still live despite Kutsuna’s request.

The theatrical run of Sekiro: No Defeat will continue for three weeks, followed by the anime adaptation’s global launch on Crunchyroll. Still, we have yet to receive a streaming release date for Sekiro: No Defeat’s anime adaptation.