For this, we look toward Samura Hiroaki’s 1993-2012 manga publication, Blade of the Immortal, from Dark Horse. Japanese pop band SMAP’s own Kimura Takuya (Howl’s Moving Castle, Space Battleship Yamado) is set to star in the title role with a story centered on a lone swordsman in feudal Japan whose only means of freedom from immortality and misery is through the spilled blood of one-thousand evil men. The role marks Kimura‘s roughly ten-year return to the period genre following Yamada Yoji’s 2006 film, Love And Honor.
If you know Miike, whose credits include an adaption of Ichi The Killer, 13 Assassins and Sukiyaki Western Django to name a few, you know this is right up his alley. This one is expected to arrive in 2017, so chalk this one up as a priority through next year as we await Terraformars and learn more about Miike‘s celebrated return to kickass Japanese action with Yakuza Apocalypse.
Stay tuned for more info.