The anime classic Ninja Scroll looks like it’s going to be remade by the Hollywood Transmorphomatic 300 into a live action film. We get the following scoop thanks to our friends at comingsoon:
Alex Tse (Watchmen) will write Ninja Scroll, Warners Bros. Pictures’ adaptation of the classic Japanese anime feature. Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is producing along with Madhouse Pictures and Jungo Maruta.
“Ninja” is set in feudal Japan and follows a ninja who must fight eight demonic warriors in order to save Japan. The hard-R movie, released in 1993 in Japan, featured a villain with stone skin, a hunchback with a wasp nest as his hump and a woman whose snake tattoos come to life.
I think I saw Ninja Scroll 11 years ago. I was in a medical testing facility taking pills and giving blood for money. I was locked up in the lab for 2 separate 11 day runs. Seasoned blood study veterans would bring video game systems and stacks of films in order to make the time fly by. One of the films was Ninja Scroll, I remember watching it and enjoying it, but I ‘ll be damned if I could even tell you a thing about it at this point in history.
When you have such a well received anime film, I wonder if a remake is necessary or appropriate. Should anime films be left alone to the world of animation? What do you guys think? Do you have interest in seeing a live action remake of this film, or does the idea of a remake leave you with a dirty feeling?
THRESHOLD ARE NO LONGER INVOLVED ON NINJA SCROLL,WARNER BROS IS DOING THE FILM.
Larry Kasanoff’s Threshold Entertianment had the rights to Ninja Scroll back in 2002 so Warner Bros is going to adapt the film with Leonardo
DiCaprio producing and Alex Tse writing the script.
Threshold will work on Mortal Kombat remake and they are still working out a studio to produce the film so they can still produce Ninja Scroll with Warner Bros? I think Threshold should get their hands on working more movies like doing Capcom’s Darkstalkers series.
Thank you.
BRUCE ACOSTA
AUSTRALIA.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a live action “Ninja Scroll” flick if they did the violence much like “Kill Bill”. Since Tarentino took much of the violence from Ninja Scroll for Kill Bill why not likewise? I feel that they should keep the main character asian and not have a guy who looks asian but isn’t asian.
Now the reason I am skeptic of why it won’t work is because of “Elektra”, if you have seen the anime of Ninja Scroll and then see Elektra you can easliy see the villians are knock offs from the Devils of Kimon form Ninja Scroll. And that movie sucked! So that doesn’t give me high hopes for a possible Ninja Scroll remake.
oh please let them make it into another white guy in previous asian guy role with tonnes of hot asian women movie like dragonball, speed racer, and forbidden kingdom. yes hollyood, that is what ppl want, that is why those movies did so well…. pricks
@Darren J Seeley
The Dragonball crowd is a small pocket? Sure whatever you say.
I recall the bad campiness of the live action Fist Of The North Star; Crying Freeman was an hard R adaptation that has never been seen in the States.
The Dragonball crowd is a small pocket.
The Speed Racer crowd was even smaller-and sucked the pop culture memories out of those who remembered it.
A Ninja Scroll flick, keeping a hard R rating sounds nice indeed. But I have to stand by the same measuring stick that I used for the Ghost In The Shell and Cowboy Bebop talk many moons ago.
You can’t get away with half the stuff you do in animation.
The violence would be watered down, topless women (especially for Ghost In The Shell) would be minimal at best, but most importantly…
*if* the intent is to have a virtual backdrop world, such as Sin City, or At Vitam Immortal, why go live action at all?
BTW, Cowboy Bebop (Heaven’s Door) and Akira are so well done that you *forget* they are animation, and are just as good as some live action films.
Footnote: I would not mind if there was a LA version of BlackJack.
As long as they write a good story, and keep the hard R rating intact, including the nude scene (what’s up with the America and nudity? I don’t get it…. Violence and guns is good. Sex and nudity is bad) which is impacting the story.
A great anime become the worst movie. It just wastes of money and film.
I love the types of anime that have a deeper, darker side, and Ninja Scroll is one of the better one’s out there. Anime to Movies doesn’t have a very good track record, so I would be tempted to think that this will follow suit to be honest.
Although, this has rekindled my desire to pull on that dvd and have another watch of this classic.
You know what i take that back Cowboy Bebop would make a stupid film compare to the anime.
Not that Cowboy Bebop would be a bad film, i think it could make a great film but come on this is like remaking Fight Club.
Keanu Reeves as Spike? are you fucking serious? Look theirs only one Spike and his name is Steven Blum.
Just don’t make Jubei white.
I have no confidence in Warner Bros.
a live action cowboy bebop movie is coming, & bebop is perfect for a live action adaption, just as long as keanu reeves isnt cast as spike
James Cameron on Battle Angel, yep, should be good. DiCaprio’s studio on Akira, and possibly DiCaprio himself, yep, should be good. Watchmen writer on Ninja Scrolls, left to be determined. Wait and see how the writing on Watchmen is before deciding.
Sure this adaptations will more than likely not be anything like their anime/manga counter parts, but with good writing and directing they can still be good. Look at the Bourne movies. Awesome flicks, but nothing like their counter part books.
i think the only anime remake i’m remotely excited for is evangelion, and that’s only if weta is still involved.
People take Dragonball way to seriously, i mean i don’t care that they made several changes to the story i been reliving it about 10,000+ threw out my childhood.
All i want to see from Dragonball is martial arts, Bulma’s hotness comes to life, Kamehameha, Oozaru, Goku vs. Piccolo and that a A+ for me.
So what if Krillin is not in it, so what if Master Roshi is not a prevert that’s what we got the anime for.
I’d love to see this joint live!
…gotta make a live action Ninja Scroll…just don’t mess with the storyline too much, please. You don’t need a writer for Ninja Scroll, people, it’s already written.
I think everything should be adapted. If there’s a great story to share and most people aren’t watching it because “it’s a cartoon,” you might as well bring it to live-action to show everyone what they’re missing out on. Live-action movies are the only things you can get anyone to watch.
I love the crap out of “Ninja Scroll.” I doubt they can make it better, and the nude scenes would look very awkward in an American film, but I look forward to seeing the different takes on the fight scenes and the FX they use.
I’m glad “Speed Racer” didn’t deter WB from adapting more anime. If anything, they now have they a good reason to take a different approach to it instead of trying to recreate the same visual experience itself.
@Daniel
They are.
FUCK!!!! They better NOT make a Cowboy Bebop live action film. That anime is too PERFECT to be live action, i don’t give a flying FUCK if it could be a good movie it should not be made.
Here’s my top 5 list of animes that will do well into live action.
5. Outlaw Star (maybe it all depends)
4. Rurouni Kenshin
3. The 80th MS Team
2. Mobile Suit Gundam
1. Lupin The 3rd
Horrible idea. You can get away with a lot more in animation than with live action. I just can’t see it looking good.
I really don’t like this idea. Not one bit. Animation turned live-action rarely turns out well and I don’t see this as being an exception. They’ll have to find actors which will inevitably be some occidental B-movie actors (like this god awful Dragonball abomination) and they’ll have to use a ton of CG to cover the over-the-top anime style combat scenes. Those things would absolutely kill the movie. Ninja Scroll is one of my all-time favorite anime movies…I just don’t want to see it ruined.
I agree with Broly that Lupin would make a good live-action movie (though I don’t care for that particular series). There’s enough comedy and action to keep most guys happy. And it could be done with “western” actors well enough to grab bigger sales at the box office than it would with oriental actors.
I just hope they don’t decide to make a live-action Cowboy Bebop movie too….
Now i’m a HUGE manga/anime fan but anime should never be made into live action films… Well except for Lupin The 3rd that would be a great movie.
A friend of mind has Ninja Scroll on DVD but i never bother watching it and that strange too me, i ALWAYS watch anime.