Warner Bros. Lands ‘Black Samurai’ Movie From ‘The Color Purple’ Director Blitz Bazawule (Exclusive)
In a competitive situation, Warner Bros. has landed “The Color Purple” director Blitz Bazawule’s next project, which takes on the legendary Yasuke, an African warrior who became the first Black samurai.
Sources tell Variety that Warner Bros. beat out three other studios and streamers’ bids on the script, tentatively titled “Black Samurai,” which Bazawule wrote on spec and will direct and produce under his Inward Gaze banner.
After impressing the industry with his 2018 debut “The Burial of Kojo,” helming episodes of Ava DuVernay’s “Cherish the Day” and working with Beyoncé on her feature-length visual album “Black Is King,” Bazawule made his major studio debut with 2023’s “The Color Purple.”
The Ghanaian filmmaker, who brought his unique visual language to the Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg-produced musical movie, is said to have done the same with his take on Yasuke, an African warrior who served under Japanese daimyo...
Sources tell Variety that Warner Bros. beat out three other studios and streamers’ bids on the script, tentatively titled “Black Samurai,” which Bazawule wrote on spec and will direct and produce under his Inward Gaze banner.
After impressing the industry with his 2018 debut “The Burial of Kojo,” helming episodes of Ava DuVernay’s “Cherish the Day” and working with Beyoncé on her feature-length visual album “Black Is King,” Bazawule made his major studio debut with 2023’s “The Color Purple.”
The Ghanaian filmmaker, who brought his unique visual language to the Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg-produced musical movie, is said to have done the same with his take on Yasuke, an African warrior who served under Japanese daimyo...
- 4/10/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Fresh from playing the African warrior king Black Panther in Avengers: Endgame, Chadwick Boseman has officially aligned himself to play Yasuke, the first African samurai to swing a sword in Japan.
Erik Feig’s Picturestart has teamed with Mike De Luca and his De Luca Productions banner, Stephen L’Heureux and his Solipsist banner, and Boseman and Logan Coles’ X●ception Content to produce the film adaptation of the story of Yasuke, who served under Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga in 16th century Japan.
Yasuke was a native of Portuguese Mozambique who was brought to Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival aroused the interest of Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. A complex relationship developed between the two men as Yasuke earned Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor,...
Erik Feig’s Picturestart has teamed with Mike De Luca and his De Luca Productions banner, Stephen L’Heureux and his Solipsist banner, and Boseman and Logan Coles’ X●ception Content to produce the film adaptation of the story of Yasuke, who served under Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga in 16th century Japan.
Yasuke was a native of Portuguese Mozambique who was brought to Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival aroused the interest of Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. A complex relationship developed between the two men as Yasuke earned Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor,...
- 5/7/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
MGM is producing an awesome new film project called Yasuke, which is based on the true story of the only African Samurai in recorded history in feudal Japan. This is the kind of film project that has the making of a hit because it’s such a great and interesting story.
There’s no director attached to Yasuke yet, but the script is being written by Stuart C. Paul, and these are the story details that were shared:
A native of Portuguese Mozambique, Yasuke was taken captive and brought to 16th-century Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival arouses the interest of Oda Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. The script focuses on the complex relationship between the two men as Yasuke earns Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor,...
There’s no director attached to Yasuke yet, but the script is being written by Stuart C. Paul, and these are the story details that were shared:
A native of Portuguese Mozambique, Yasuke was taken captive and brought to 16th-century Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival arouses the interest of Oda Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. The script focuses on the complex relationship between the two men as Yasuke earns Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor,...
- 4/22/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Exclusive: MGM will mount Yasuke, an action film that is based on the true story of history’s only recorded African samurai in feudal Japan. Stuart C. Paul has written the script and Whalerock Industries’ Lloyd Braun and Andrew Mittman are producing. The latter has joined the exec ranks at MGM and will steer the project.
A native of Portuguese Mozambique, Yasuke was taken captive and brought to 16th-century Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival arouses the interest of Oda Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. The script focuses on the complex relationship between the two men as Yasuke earns Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor, swords and title of samurai.
Paul recently sold Scorpion to Stx as a pitch with Joel Silver producing, and previously sold...
A native of Portuguese Mozambique, Yasuke was taken captive and brought to 16th-century Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival arouses the interest of Oda Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. The script focuses on the complex relationship between the two men as Yasuke earns Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor, swords and title of samurai.
Paul recently sold Scorpion to Stx as a pitch with Joel Silver producing, and previously sold...
- 4/18/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Adding to his slate of projects currently set up at Universal - the studio with which he inked a 3-year first-look production deal last year, under his newly-formed Will Packer Productions banner - producer Will Packer has picked up a spec script from writer Stuart C. Paul titled "Terminal Point," which he'll produce alongside David Alpert for Circle of Confusion. Plot details are being kept underwraps, but given writer Paul's previous projects, 3 comedy short films, I can only assume that "Terminal Point" (which actually sounds more like it could be an action film), will also be a comedy. Maybe a mix of genres, like a crime-comedy. Other...
- 7/17/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Exclusive: In his latest move at his new Universal home, hitmaking Think Like A Man Too and Ride Along producer Will Packer has acquired spec script Terminal Point from writer Stuart C. Paul. Details are under wraps on the script which Packer and fellow producer David Alpert snagged in a pre-emptive buy. It’s the first spec sale for Paul, who recently wrote and directed short film The Lord of Catan, about a young married couple (Amy Acker and Fran Kranz) whose game night descends into cutthroat competition. Related: Universal Makes First-Look Feature Pact With Producer Will Packer Terminal Point will […]...
- 7/17/2014
- Deadline
Stuart Paul will adapt The Nye Incidents for Rko, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Devil's Due Publishing graphic novel already has Todd Lincoln attached to direct the movie adaptation. The Nye Incidents follows the adventures of a very logical and rational medical examiner whose work on a murder case brings her face-to-face with irrefutable evidence of alien abductions. Comic book and screenwriter Paul wrote the Ides of Blood (more)...
- 9/23/2011
- by By Hugh Armitage
- Digital Spy
Stuart C. Paul and Christian Duce have detailed their alternate history miniseries Ides of Blood. WildStorm's six-issue series spins a tale of Julius Caesar's rise to dominance at the head of his army of vampire slaves, focusing on one particular vampire called Valens. "It's a bloody spectacle," Paul told Cbr. "There's going to be lots of adventure, action, blood, sex, all those good things you expect from Rome and vampires put together. "It's a version of Rome you've never seen, obviously. I'm really trying (more)...
- 6/11/2010
- by By Hugh Armitage
- Digital Spy
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