This article is a re-edit and republication from December 22 following the film’s continued festival circulation going into the new year, now presented with a new upload via the BarilliantAction channel.
It’s been five years since actor and director Calvert David Miles announced the production of his newest film, Yasuke: Descendants, taking its cues from samurai lore surrounding the history of the legendary African warrior who served Oda Nobunaga in the 16th century. The film marks the latest independent production out of Miles’s 3 Strands Of Rope Banner with a cast led by Gichi Gamba, June Mock, David Charles Warren, Danielle Larracuente, and Miles himself.
Actor and filmmaker Calvert David Miles (The Woman In The Red Dress) is setting off new strides as of late with his current 3 Strands Of Rope production, Yasuke: Descendants. FCSyndicate exclusively reported the announcement back in February which paved the way with enough time for Miles to produce a concept trailer which eventually premiered at Dragonfest over the summer.
EXCLUSIVE: Actor and filmmaker Calvert David Miles is currently enveloping himself in the development and pre-production phases of his second narrative project, Yasuke: Descendants. The film takes a page from history noted in recent years of online hype signaling the latest in forthcoming theatrical tellings of the first and only recorded samurai of African descent to serve Lord Nobunaga Oda in the 16th century.
Concept artwork
Brotherhood, jealousy and revenge are key factors in Miles’s script which lays the groundwork for a fictional tale across time, one that now sees two L.A. gang leaders, Phoenix and Ryo – consanguineal to Yusuke and his rival, the Lord’s brother, Akechi – at odds. Following a deadly raid on both gangs and the seizure of Phoenix’s lost family heirloom – a mystical sword passed down from father to son, tragedy further escalates in parallel with the desire for vengeance between Phoenix, and Wess (Miles), an FBI agent caught in the throes of centuries-old cycle of warfare and bloodshed.
After successfully landing distribution with Global Genesis Group for his 2016 independent MMA feature acting and directing debut, The Woman In The Red Dress, Miles initially intended on scoring again with the development of a slick action thriller in the vein of Crank and Speed. He then put off the project to contemplate further on the narrative and concept for the next three months before picking up the pen and completing the story.
Calvert David Miles and Action On Film festival host
Del Weston in 2014
“After stumbling upon an article about the first black samurai to serve a Japanese warlord, I became interested in the journey of this unfamiliar warrior named Yasuke.”, says Miles in a director’s statement. “I began to do research, uncovering how a slave in the 1500s could rise against the odds to become the only known African to reach the rank of samurai in feudal Japan. This historical figure acts as the launching pad for the original story of Yasuke: Descendants.”
Miles won Breakout Male Action Star at the Action On Film festival for his performance in the 2014 short, Assassin Origin. He will be rejoined by his The Woman In The Red Dress co-star, actor and martial artist Kevin Brewerton, who will play Wess’s partner, Rico, while further casting for the dual roles of Yasuke and Phoenix, as well as that of Nobunaga and another female character, remain pending.
Miles’s 3 Strands Of Rope Productions is producing the film along with Global Genesis Group with more producers to soon attach.
You must be logged in to post a comment.