Blitz Bazawule to Direct ‘Black Samurai’ for Warner Bros.

The film is directed by Bazawule, the director of “The Color Purple”, which tells the story of an African warrior who became the primary black samurai.

A joyful Hollywood studio has ordered one other coveted project from filmmaker Blitz Bazawule.

The director of “The Color Purple” will direct for Warner Bros. tentatively titled “Black Samurai”, which tells the story of the African warrior who became the primary black samurai, Yasuke.

According to Diversity, Warner Bros. beat out quite a few studios and streamers for the highly coveted upcoming project. Bazawule has written the script on spec, and according to the outlet, he is ready to direct and produce the film under his Inward Gaze banner.

Bazawule made a reputation for himself within the industry by directing critically acclaimed projects corresponding to Beyoncé’s “The Burial of Kojo” and “Black Is King,” before starring in last 12 months’s hit musical remake of “The Color Purple.”

Variety describes the upcoming project as less of a standard biopic and more “shades of ‘300’ and ‘Max Max.’ While the exact plot points are still a mystery, it states that Yasuke was “an African warrior who served under the command of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga throughout the Sengoku period of samurai conflict in Sixteenth-century Japan.”

TheGrio’s Cortney Wills caught up with Bazawul ahead of The Color Purple’s premiere and he shared his approach to telling the iconic story to a new generation.

“I truly believe that ‘The Color Purple’ is the gift that keeps on giving,” he said, “and that ultimately this generation will find things in it that will directly apply to their circumstances, and they will find their own healing, just as other generations have found healing in this great work.”

In addition to “Black Samurai,” Bazawule is working on “Scent of Burnt Flowers,” a limited series starring and executive produced by Yahya Abdul-Mateen.

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Blitz Bazawule’s entry on directing “Black Samurai” for Warner Bros. appeared first on TheGrio.