Omar Sy in Talks to Star in Netflix ‘Yasuke’ Event Series From 21 Laps, Significant Productions (Exclusive)
Nick Jones Jr., who served as head writer on the streamer's recent anime adaptation, will write the five-part dramatization of the real-life Black samurai's story.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Netflix is sharing another version of Yasuke and teaming up with some familiar collaborators to do it.
The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned that Lupin star Omar Sy will play the real-life legend, an African man brought to feudal Japan under enslavement who became the country’s first non-Japanese samurai, in a new live-action series. The five-part event series will be penned by military vet-turned-screenwriter Nick Jones Jr., who served as head writer for the streamer’s Yasuke anime adaptation last year.
“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.
Whereas last year’s Yasuke anime incorporated fantasy elements, this new live-action series will be a dramatization of the historical story, focusing on Yasuke’s friendship with samurai warrior Oda Nobunaga as he rose through the ranks. 21 Laps optioned Craig Shreve’s upcoming novel African Samurai as source material and the company’s vice president of television, Paige Simpson, who brought the book to Netflix, will oversee the project alongside 21 Laps executive Moera Ainai.
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