Picture: Omar Sy
It’s been over two years since it was announced that Netflix would team up with Nick Jones Jr. to produce a five-part series on Oda Nobunaga’s retainer, Yasuke, the first black Samurai in the Sengoku period in Japan. The series reportedly entered pre-production, and we hope to learn more details soon.
Former Marine and now writer Nick Jones Jr. is the showrunner and the writer of the upcoming series. In 2021, Jones Jr. was the head writer and producer of Netflix’s Yasuke anime adaptation. Unlike the anime, the live-action series will not have any fantasy elements but will be a serious dramatization of the real-life story of Yasuke and his friendship with Japanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga. Jones Jr. commented:
“Getting a chance to finally bring Yasuke’s legendary true story to life has been a dream of mine ever since I served in Japan as a Marine.”
Pictured: Nick Jones Jr
Jones and Sy will serve as executive producers alongside 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy and Josh Barry (Stranger Things, Shadow & Bone) and Significant Productions’ Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi. She said:
“This is the perfect project for what Forest and I strive for — the intersectionality of two cultures through great storytelling, To bring a real-life, historical figure to the forefront, paired with incredible action, with faces that represent both Black and Asian heritage — behind the camera and in front of the camera — equates a total dream scenario.”
21 Laps is under an overall deal with Netflix and has released numerous projects over the past few years, with more to come.
Here’s everything else we know about Netflix’s live-action Yasuke series:
What’s Yasuke’s plot and historical background?
Netflix’s Yasuke will tell the tale of the real-life legend of an African man brought to feudal Japan under enslavement who became the country’s first non-Japanese samurai. Whereas 2021’s Yasuke anime incorporated fantasy elements, this new live-action series will dramatize the historical story, focusing on Yasuke’s friendship with the daimyō Oda Nobunaga.
Per the Harlem World Museum, here’s a bit more background:
In 1579, Yasuke arrived in Japan in the service of the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano, Visitor of Missions in the Indies, in India. Yasuke was one of the several Africans to have come with the Portuguese to Japan during the Nanban trade and is thought by some as the first African that Nobunaga had ever seen. He was also present during the Honnō-ji Incident, the forced suicide of Nobunaga at the hands of his general Akechi Mitsuhide on 21 June 1582.
Yasuke’s exact origins are unclear. Some clues point to him being from Mozambique, others to Sudan or Ethiopia. The Netflix series will likely choose one of those theories, but it’s unclear which one it will use.
You may be familiar with Netflix’s anime Yasuke, helmed by Lesean Thomas and released in April 2021. Yasuke will also be one of two playable characters in Ubisoft’s upcoming video game Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. However, the developer’s decision to use Yasuke as one of the playable characters has been heavily criticized online.
Who is cast in Yasuke?
Picture: Getty Images
Lupin and Intouchables star Omar Sy will lead Netflix’s Yasuke as its eponymous character. No other characters have been revealed as of yet. Sy commented in a statement:
“I’ve been inspired by Yasuke for quite a while. With this superb team, we are creating a remarkable series showcasing what it meant to be an African samurai in Japanese history. The action sequences alone are going to be phenomenal and ingenious.”
What’s the production status of Yasuke?
Yasuke has been in development for a long time, and it’s been a while since we last received an update after the initial announcement. Recently, we’ve seen a change in its production status, which is now reportedly in pre-production.
We expect filming to begin on Yasuke in 2025. However, nothing is confirmed as of yet.
How many episodes will be in Yasuke?
Netflix’s Yasuke is confirmed to have five hour-long episodes. It’s being dubbed an event series, meaning it’ll be a limited series.
What’s the Netflix release date for Yasuke?
It’s going to be a long wait before Yasuke lands on Netflix. Assuming filming takes place in 2025, we expect the series to drop sometime in 2026.
Are you looking forward to watching Yasuke on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
