Japan: Professor Layton and the Devil's Flute releasing alongside Layton film

According to the latest issue of Famitsu, not only is the Professor Layton and the Eternal Songstress movie scheduled for a 2010 release in Japan, but Level-5 will be releasing a new Layton DS trilogy to go along with it.

The first offering, Professor Layton and the Devil's Flute, is set three years before the Curious Village took place.

Our hero is in a strange town besieged by a giant who goes bonkers whenever a mysterious flute is played. Layton's trusty sidekick Luke is present, as well as a new female pal named Remi Altava.

"The series wrapped up its trilogy with Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel, so there was a bit of resistance to making yet another new title," Level-5's Akihiro Hino told Famitsu.

"However, we received word from a lot of gamers during development asking if this was really the end, and that was all the inspiration we needed to create a new trilogy, a 'second season' of Layton."

"With this trilogy, we've got puzzles and tricks that go across all three games", he added. "I think each individual game is going to take a lot more time to complete than before. We're challenging ourselves here because we don't want people to think it's the same thing over again."

Devil's Flute is slated for a fall release in Japan, with the Eternal Songstress film continuing where Devil's Flute leaves off.

Hows that for movie-game interaction?

More through the link.