Five by Five (2026)

Three decades before the events of Echo 8, Agent 5 (Masa Yamaguchi) operates in the shadows of Zodiac, a clandestine organization with a rigid hierarchy. Haunted by personal loss, he navigates increasingly dangerous assignments while climbing the ranks — each promotion demanding a greater moral compromise. As his grief curdles into something colder, the line between loyalty and survival blurs, setting the stage for the operative seen in the later film.

The story unfolds through fragmented missions and tense encounters with figures like the enigmatic Daigo (Takashi Hara), the bureaucratic Z12 (Mike Leeder), and the mysterious informant known only as The Tip (Alexander W. Hunter). It's a descent framed not as a fall, but as a calculated ascent — one that asks what remains of a man when the job becomes his only identity.