April 10, 2009

Ninja Scroll (2011)



Warner Brothers has optioned a live-action film based on the anime "Ninja Scroll". Warner Bros. and Leonard DiCaprio's production company Appain Way have also optioned Akira. Along with Akira and Ghost In The Shell, Ninja Scroll was one of the most influential animated films that came out of Japan during the anime craze.



Writer Alex Tse (Watchmen) was hired to develop a script. Tse has also worked on Frankie Machine the next Michael Mann project. While Watchmen felt a little too condensed, Ninja Scroll shouldn't suffer the same issues since the original anime runs like a regular length movie.




Casting Update: According to a Japanese newspaper DiCaprio is considering casting members of the Japanese band SMAP in the film. SMAP consists of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori. It makes some sense since they would need well known "Japanese" names to sell the film. Along with the fact the film is set in Feudal Japan which doesn't give many western actors a chance for a role.


My Casting Thoughts:



Rain (Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin), Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill, Battle Royale), Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins, Last Samurai) and Jang Dong Gun.



"A ninja-for-hire is forced into fighting an old nemesis who is bent on overthrowing the Japanese government. His nemesis is also the leader of a group of demons each with superhuman powers."

No comments:

Post a Comment