New Film from the Director of “The Color Purple” Recently Acquired by Warner Bros – “Black Samurai” Will Tackle the Legend of Yasuke, With Stylistic Resemblance to Movies Like “300” And “Mad Max”
In a competitive bidding war, Warner Bros has recently become attached to a new project from Blitz Bazawule, the director of the 2023 film “The Color Purple.” The upcoming film will take on the legend of Yasuke – Japan’s first Black samurai.
Provisionally titled “Black Samurai,” the film is on track to being directed and produced by Bazawule, who also wrote the screenplay. Bazawule has had a momentous career the last couple of years, amassing a number of professional achievements and collaborations. Before directing the Academy Award-nominated “The Color Purple,” the multi-hyphenate filmmaker-rapper-novelist directed the Ghanaian film “The Burial of Kojo,” and a couple episodes of Ava DuVernay’s drama series “Cherish The Day,” in addition to providing contribution to the Beyoncé musical film “Black Is King.”
Though the forthcoming film shares a name with the 1977 “Black Samurai,” an action-adventure spy movie, Bazawule’s upcoming film separates itself as it’s inspired by the history of Yasuke, the first African-born samurai in 16th century Japan. The mythology surrounding the figure of the samurai in feudal Japan is widely known, though non-Japanese people were traditionally barred from joining the ranks of these legendary warriors, and there were few exceptions. But Yasuke was one of those exceptions. Little is known about his life, even his birth name has become lost to history, however many historians estimate he arrived in Japan from Mozambique sometime in the late 1500s. At some point after his arrival, he became closely acquainted with the daimyō (or feudal lord) Oda Nobunaga, who eventually honored him with a sword and accepted him into his inner circle, making him the first recorded foreign-born person given the title of samurai.
There have been a few on-screen adaptations of Yasuke’s story in recent years, including the 2021 Netflix fantasy-driven anime series “Yasuke,” and a live-action TV show called “Yasuke: Descendants.” There were also plans for a Yasuke film beginning back in 2017 with Chadwick Boseman attached to star as the fabled samurai, but the project was stalled following Boseman’s tragic passing in 2020. Bazawule plans to take a unique approach to the tale of Yasuke, and (as reported by Variety) inside sources cite stylistic influences from films like “300” and “Mad Max.”
Though the timeline for “Black Samurai” is tightly under wraps and it’s unclear when it will hit theaters, Bazawule has several other projects in the works you can keep an eye out for. Notably, the FX limited series rendition of his debut novel, “The Scent of Burnt Flowers,” is on track to finish production soon, and will likely air on Hulu in the coming months.
