Kitano Takeshi Sets Samurai Movie ‘Neck’ As Final Directorial Effort With Ken Watanabe

Variety is picking up on a story circulating in Japan that originated from local magazine Josei Jishin that says actor/director Kitano Takeshi will be making a samurai film, titled “Neck,” for his next filmmaking effort. The film is expected to be his final directorial effort and is based on his novel “Kubi” published in 2019. 

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“Neck” is said to be inspired by Akira Kurosawa‘s “Seven Samurai” and should be less in the arena of anime-inspired samurai features, something that has become trendy in Japanese cinema. 

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The novel is a fictional retelling of the real-life Honno-ji Incident, in which famed warlord Oda Nobunaga was assassinated at a temple in Kyoto in 1582. Kitano’s version takes place before the assassination and opens the door to all sorts of action beats you’d expect from the samurai action genre. 

The film will also reportedly include internationally famous Japanese actor Ken Watanabe is taking a lead role in “Neck,” and production could begin as early as May. Ken is likely best known in the west for films such as “Inception,” “Batman Begins,” “Godzilla,” “Detective Pikachu,” and “The Last Samurai.” The latter earned him a Best Supporting Oscar nomination. 

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Watanabe most recently worked with director Michael Mann on the HBO Max crime series “Tokyo Vice.” As you might expect, production on the series halted during the pandemic and seemingly has resumed. It’s based on Jake Adelstein’s novel that focuses on an American crime writer that navigates the Tokyo underworld. Destin Daniel Cretton was originally attached to direct before his commitments to “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” conflicted with the schedule.

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Kitano isn’t a stranger to the samurai genre as he played the iconic samurai character Zatoichi in “The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi” back in 2003. He’s been mostly occupied recently with his Yakuza trilogy, the third installment “Outrage Coda” releasing in 2017.