Warner Bros is teaming up with The Color Purple director Blitz Bazawule, with the studio landing rights to the tentatively titled Black Samurai with Bazawule directing. He wrote the pic on spec and will also produce it under his Inward Gaze banner.
The story will follow Yasuke, an African warrior who served under Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period of samurai conflict in 16th century Japan. According to Deadline, four studios were in the mix for the project, but ultimately Warners came in with the best offer on top of the relationship that began following his work on the recent musical adaptation of The Color Purple.
While several Yasuke projects have existed in the past, insiders say the original approach from the filmmaker is being compared to groundbreaking films like 300 and Mad Max (the exact approach is still under wraps).
Besides The Color Purple, Bazawule continues to develop a limited series for FX based on his debut novel The Scent of Burnt Flowers, in which Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is attached to star and executive produce.
He is repped by CAA, M88, and André Des Rochers and Anita Surendran of Granderson Des Rochers.
