- “Yasuke” is a five-part live-action series created by Netflix.
- It was written by Nick Jones Jr.
- The showrunner and writer of the new series is Nick Jones, a former Marine.
“Yasuke”, a five-part live-action series created by Netflix and written by Nick Jones Jr., is based on the true story of the Black samurai and stars Omar Sy.
The showrunner and writer of the new series is Nick Jones Jr., a former Marine who is currently a writer. He served as the anime adaptation of Yasuke for Netflix’s head writer and producer just one year ago.
The live-action series will be a serious reenactment of the true narrative of Yasuke and his friendship with samurai Oda Nobunaga, unlike the anime, which will contain fantasy elements. Jones junior said:
“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.”
Along with Shawn Levy and Josh Barry (Stranger Things, Shadow & Bone) from 21 Laps and Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi from Significant Productions, Jones and Sy will both serve as executive producers. She uttered:
“This is the perfect project for what Forest and I strive for — the intersectionality of two cultures through great storytelling, To bring a real-life, historical figure to the forefront, paired with incredible action, with faces that represent both Black and Asian heritage — behind the camera and in front of the camera — equates a total dream scenario.”
With Netflix, 21 Laps has an overall agreement and has recently published a number of projects, with more to come.
The remaining information on Netflix’s live-action Yasuke series is as follows:
The true story of an African man who was carried to feudal Japan under duress and who later became the nation’s first non-Japanese samurai is told in Netflix’s Yasuke. This new live-action series will dramatise the historical tale, focusing on Yasuke’s friendship with samurai fighter Oda Nobunaga as he advanced through the ranks, in contrast to last year’s Yasuke anime, which included fantasy aspects.
Here is some more background information, according the Harlem World Museum:
While working for the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano, Visitor of Missions in the Indies, in India, Yasuke landed in Japan in 1579.
Some believe that Yasuke, one of several Africans who travelled to Japan with the Portuguese during the Nanban trade, was Nobunaga’s first encounter with an African.
Additionally, he was present when Nobunaga was forced to commit suicide by his general Akechi Mitsuhide on June 21, 1582, during the Honn-ji Incident.
The precise origins of Yasuke are unknown. He may be from Mozambique, Sudan, or Ethiopia, according to several speculations. One of those theories will probably be chosen for the Netflix series, although it is not yet known which one.
You may be familiar with Lesean Thomas’ animation Yusake, which debuted on Netflix in April 2021.
Watch the trailer below:
Omar Sy, who starred in Lupin and The Intouchables, will play the title role in Yasuke on Netflix. No additional characters have yet been made public. Sy made the following statement:
“I’ve been inspired by Yasuke for quite a while. With this superb team, we are creating a remarkable series showcasing what it meant to be an African samurai in Japanese history. The action sequences alone are going to be phenomenal and ingenious.”
The crew behind Netflix’s Yasuke is now in the early stages of the project’s development, writing the scripts as we speak, with pre-production to follow.
Yasuke, a limited series on Netflix, will reportedly include five hour-long episodes and be referred to as an event series.
Netflix hasn’t provided any release information for Yasuke, but given that it is still in the very early stages of development, we should only anticipate a late 2023 or 2024 release date.
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