Samuel L. Jackson Teams With Indomina for Live-Action 'Afro Samurai'

Afro Samurai, the cult hit manga and anime in which Samuel L. Jackson voices the main character, is making a bound to the big-screen, it was announced as Comic-Con 2011 took off in San Diego.

The Indomina Group, a U.S. and Dominican Republic-based producer and distributor of film, TV and trans-media content, is teaming with Jackson and Gonzo Studios, the company behind the Emmy-winning anime, to produce what would be a live-action adaptation.

Like its title suggest, Afro Samurai blends hip-hop and soul with Japanese elements. Set in a future and feudal Japan, the story follows a man seeking revenge for his father’s decapitation at the hands of Justice, a power-seeking man dressed as a cowboy.

The manga, by Takeshi Okazaki, was originally published in the late 1990s. An anime series made by Gonzo aired on Spike TV in the 2000s, and a 2009 TV movie special won a primetime Emmy, becoming the first anime to be
nominated and to win the TV award. RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan was behind the show’s music.

According to Indomnia, the plan is to attach a writer and director this summer and complete casting by the end of the yea in order to be able to shoot at Pinewood Indomina Studios in the Dominican Republic in 2012.

Indomnia is best known as a boutique distributor and next releases Griff the Invisible, starring True Blood's Ryan Kwanten, in select markets. It wants to make Afro Samurai its first feature film production.