The legendary Black samurai is getting his own live-action series on Netflix. It has just been confirmed that the story of Yasuke, the historical figure of the same name, will be adapted into a new series starring Lupin actor Omar Sy.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Netflix is developing another adaptation of Yasuke and this time, it will be a live-action project. The report also revealed that Lupin star Omar Sy is currently in talks to play the real-life legend. Nick Jones Jr., who served as head writer for the streamer’s Yasuke anime adaptation last year, returns to pen the live-action show.
“Getting a chance to finally bring Yasuke’s legendary true story to life has been a dream of mine ever since I served in Japan as a Marine,” Jones said in a statement.
Both Sy and Jones will serve as executive producers alongside 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Josh Barry as well as Significant Productions’ Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi.
Netflix had previously released an animated series based on the life of Yasuke, an African man who was brought to feudal Japan under enslavement and served as a retainer and weapon-bearer to the daimyo Oda Nobunaga. Yasuke eventually became the country’s first non-Japanese samurai in history.
The anime series added a mystical storyline to Yasuke's original story, sending him on a mission to protect a young girl from a priest with mutant powers. It is still unclear if the live-action show will have similar mystical properties. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.
For now, the new Yasuke series has not yet been given an official release date. In the meantime, the anime series starring Lakeith Stanfield, Takehiro Hira, and Ming-Na Wen is still streaming on Netflix.
Related: Ming-Na Wen Celebrates Playing Another Bad-Ass Character in Netflix's Yasuke
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