Looking at Jim Jarmusch’s seventh narrative film effort, Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai, you would be forgiven for believing that to be the end of the story. Leave it to news as of last week citing that Jarmusch is reportedly reuniting with actor Forest Whitaker to take on a sequel apparently written and ready to go from scribes, Dallas Jackson and musician and noted musician and producer RZA.
“Jim Jarmusch, my good buddy, and Forest Whitaker, have both signed on with me and another writer named Dallas Jackson, to executive produce another Ghost Dog. And we already have something written. So maybe Ghost Dog will make its way back to the silver screen, or small screen.”
The exclusive at Birth.Movies.Death. from Monday also cites this as a possible move toward a streamed series and notes that both Jarmusch and Whitaker haven’t spoken on the project. Moreover it hasn’t been publicly confirmed if whether or not the Rogue One co-star will reprise his role which in and of itself would be an interesting development for anyone who has seen the 1999 film.
Layered with a visage of Japanese literary aesthetic for its urban plinth and hip hop cultivation a la RZA’s own original score, Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai became a commercial hit as well as a cult classic with several nominations to its name. Whitaker, already a studious martial artist at the time, plays the titular samurai-minded hitman whose continued service to the mobster who saved his life at a young age now sees our stealthy assassin wage an urban one-man ninja war against a crime organization that wants him dead.
The film ends on a note that sees the potential for a continuation without the necessary presence of immediately implying there would be one, and seeing how its been eighteen years, that is sort of a good thing. It hails the predecessor as a tactful offering that accomplished more by doing less to achieve its vision so one hopes that a reawakening of our title character in any vessel will only build on what helped the 1999 movie work.
Let’s hope the right people will convene on this one.