Recent reports tell us that John Wick director Chad Stahelski is eyeing some interesting moves for the movie adaptation of the action open-world game Ghost of Tsushima. The director plans to make the movie entirely in Japanese with an all-Japanese cast. This follows Sony's pronouncement of making some of its PlayStation Games into films and TV series.
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Gizmodo reports that The Last of Us by Naughty Dog, which is being adapted into an HBO TV series, is the most recent example of Sony's determination to turn as many of its first-party PlayStation games into movies or TV shows. The open-world samurai game Ghost of Tsushima, for which Chad Stahelski was tapped to direct earlier in the year, is also one of Sony's potential adaptations in the works.
The Sony PlayStation game was released in 2020. 'Ghost of Tsushima' follows the story of a samurai called Jin Sakai that is on a quest to protect the island of Tsushima against the first Mongol invasion of Japan. Despite the game involving a lot of sword fights and war scenes, its plot leans to the point that it is existential and complicated. In the game, Jin Sakai will face a difficult dilemma: fight honorably and uphold the samurai moral code or win the war using unspeakable ways of defeating the Mongol invaders. 'Ghost of Tsushima' is a game developed by Sucker Punch Studios and was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment in mid-2020.
'We Stick to What's Great About It' Says Chad Stahelski
In a report from April, the film adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima has named its writer. Takashi Doscher will write the screenplay of the hit 2020's hit game. This previous report from Gamenguide tells us that the said movie will be the second film that both Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions will produce.
Currently, the video game movie adaptation is still in its early stages of production. In an interview with IGN at a red carpet event for The Matrix: Resurrections, Stahelski discussed some updates about Ghost of Tsushima and said, "We just want to do it right. You know how video game adaptations can go. So we're taking our time and doing it right. We're working very closely with the game developers to make sure we stick to what's great about it."
'Ghost of Tsushima' Director Eyes an All-Japanese Cast
In another interview, Stahelski tells Collider that they aim to make the film visually stunning and with an opportunity for great action and looks. The John Wick director says that their team is looking to make the movie with a complete Japanese cast and entirely in Japanese, given that the story is a 'Japanese thing.' The director even added how he loves Japan's language, people, and culture.
Stahelski tells fans that their team is taking their time to make the movie better and carefully aligned with the videogame. Stahelski said last year that he intends to take his time as they work on the film's treatment in order to "do it right."
This is a commendable move by Stahelski and Sony. A few film adaptations based on Japanese manga and video games were entirely produced in English and included non-Japanese actors. While they were produced to appeal to Western audiences, reviews proved some of these adaptations lacked authenticity. This recent pronouncement from Stahelski assures Ghost fans that a movie adaptation is coming soon to impress us and will look great.
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