Netflix is expanding its programming slate once again, ordering
Wu Assassins, a new martial arts drama starring Iko Uwais. The series will be a blend of several genres, involving a combination of martial arts, science fiction, crime thriller, and drama.
Wu Assassins will follow Uwais as the character Kai Jin, a Wu Assassin in San Francisco’s Chinatown that is tasked with hunting down an old organized crime outfit to find justice and balance in the city. Joining Uwais as a co-star is Byron Mann, known for his roles in
Hell on Wheels, The Big Short, and
The Expanse.
The series order for
Wu Assassins was announced on Friday
via Deadline. Tony Krantz, John Wirth, and Nomadic Pictures have all joined forces to produce the series, whose first season will be comprised of 10 episodes. Stephen Fung, known for his Hong Kong martial arts films such as the
House of Fury and
The Adventures, will direct the first two episodes of
Wu Assassins. Producer Wirth will serve as both the writer and showrunner of the series as well.
Wu Assassins is expected to begin production this summer on August 8.
While Uwais may be most recognizable to American audiences through his role as the Kanjiklub lieutenant Razoo Qin-Fee in
The Force Awakens, the Indonesian actor is best known internationally for his work in the
The Raid franchise as protagonist Rama. Yet Uwais is not only an actor. He is also known for his work as a fight choreographer, having choreographed the fight sequences in both
Raid films (which are consistently praised for their battle choreography), and the
upcoming Mark Wahlberg film Mile 22.
In May, Netflix officially became the
most valuable media company in the entire world, surpassing Disney in the stock market. As such, they've been able to attract a wealth of creative talent to create more and more original programming as a result,
including Barack and Michelle Obama. That deal comes as Netflix works on emphasizing the diversity of its programming slate, taking on more and more ambitious, convention-breaking projects such as the timely sitcom
One Day at a Time or brash political comedy
Dear White People. Centered as it is on Indonesian lead Uwais,
Wu Assassins could end up being yet another example of how Netflix is challenging the status quo, and growing its original programming sector beyond Hollywood norms.
