Ken Watanabe to Star in Japanese ‘Unforgiven’ Remake
Posted on Monday, August 20th, 2012 by Russ Fischer
The relationship between samurai films and westerns goes back many years, thanks in large part to remakes of Akria Kurosawa films; his 1954 film Seven Samurai was remade as the western The Magnificent Seven in 1960, and the defining Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood movie A Fistful of Dollars remade Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, without explicit credit given to Kurosawa.
Now there is a major western-to-samurai remake in development, and it is even another one that involves a now-classic Clint Eastwood production. Warner Japan plans to remake Clint Eastwood’s 1992 opus Unforgiven as a samurai period drama, with Ken Watanabe in a version of the central role played by Eastwood.
Variety says that Lee Sang-il, director of the 2010 film Villain, will direct with the story set in 1880 and the location “changed to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, a time when Japanese settlers were displacing the native Ainu people.”
Watanabe will be a famed but retired swordsman living with his Ainu wife, who is lured back into action by the promise of a large bounty.
The film, called Yurusarezaru mono in Japan, will also feature Akira Emoto and Koichi Sata, and will shoot this fall in Hokkaido with a 2013 release planned. No word on a US release plan at this point.
