I’ve never seen Afro Samurai by Takashi Okazaki myself, but I do hear cool things about it. It’s currently being co-produced by Samuel L. Jackson into an animated series, with Okazaki on the writing credits. Not only that, it looks like Jackson is going to headline in the live action movie version. According to Coming Soon:
Variety says the film is a joint production of Japanese animation studio GDH K.K. Gonzo, Fuji TV and Mosaic Media in Los Angeles. Jackson is already signed to lend his voice to an animated Afro Samurai TV series set to premiere on Spike TV next year.
Afro Samurai is the tale of a black samurai futuristic, yet feudal Japan who is on a mission to avenge the wrongful death of his father. Jackson stars as “Afro,” a warrior who travels a solitary path encountering a myriad of enemies, friends and challenges beyond imagination.
Suits Jackson down to the ground, but with his age and back problems, even in the last Star Wars his fighting with the lightsaber was a bit less energetic than the others, however, perhaps that was a choice they made. After all with CGI even Christopher Lee was leaping about like a madman. That aside, I think Jackson is perfect for the role. Check out the website at the top of the story for more on the character.
