Blade of the 47 Ronin explained

Blade of the 47 Ronin
Director:Ron Yuan
Producer:Tim Kwok
Screenplay:
Starring:
Music:
Production Companies:
Distributor:Netflix
Runtime:106 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English

Blade of the 47 Ronin is a 2022 American action-fantasy film directed by Ron Yuan, from a script co-written by John Swetnam, Aimee Garcia, and AJ Mendez, and is a sequel to the 2013 film 47 Ronin. Set 300 years after its predecessor, the movie details the fight for survival of the final descendants of the 47 Ronin. Blade of the 47 Ronin was released as a Netflix Original Film on October 25, 2022.

Premise

The continued story of ancient Japanese Rōnin warriors set 300 years after 47 Ronin, in a modern-day world where Samurai clans exist in complete secrecy.

Production

Development

In August 2020, a sequel to 47 Ronin was announced to be in development with Ron Yuan serving as director. The project was described by the filmmaker as "genre-blending", as a combination of martial arts, action, horror and cyber-punk genres.[1] The plot of the film will take place 300 years "into the future", and will be produced by Universal 1440 Entertainment and distributed by Netflix. Production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2021.[2] [3] [4]

In April 2021, Aimee Garcia and AJ Mendez joined the production as co-screenwriters; the pair of writing-collaborators' first feature film credit.[5] By December 2021, it was revealed that John Swetnam had also joined the project as an additional screenwriter.[6]

Casting

By December 2021, Anna Akana and Mark Dacascos joined the cast in leading roles; while Teresa Ting, Mike Moh, Dustin Nguyen, Yoshi Sudarso, and Chris Pang serve as the supporting cast.[7]

Filming

Principal photography had commenced by December 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. Additionally, it was clarified that the plot will be set 300 years after the first film, as opposed to being set "in the future". The fictional plot, set in modern-day, centers around factions of Samurai who have operated in secrecy for centuries. The primary cast was announced, with Tim Kwok named as producer. The film will be a joint-venture production between Universal Pictures, Universal 1440 Entertainment, and Scrappy Heart Productions, and distributed by Netflix.

Release

Blade of the 47 Ronin was released on October 25, 2022, via streaming by Universal Filmed Entertainment Group as a Netflix Original Film.[8]

Future

In October 2022, following the popularity of Blade of the 47 Ronin through its streaming release,[9] it was announced that a third film is in development.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: '47 Ronin' Sequel Sets 'Mulan's Ron Yuan As Director. Deadline. Ramos, Dino-Ray. August 12, 2020. December 3, 2021.
  2. Web site: Film and TV Projects Going Into Production - 47 Ronin Sequel. . April 19, 2021. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210419154742/https://www.varietyinsight.com/production_restart_full_view.php?track_id=182135 . April 19, 2021.
  3. Web site: 47 Ronin sequel is heading to Netflix – here's what we know so far: We're...Excited...Maybe?. Digital Spy. Geisinger, Gabriella. August 25, 2020. December 3, 2021.
  4. Web site: '47 Ronin' Sequel in the Works for Netflix, 'Mulan' Actor to Direct. Collider. Lawrence, Gregory. August 12, 2020. December 3, 2021.
  5. Web site: '47 Ronin' Sequel Sets 'Lucifer's Aimee Garcia & NYT Bestselling Author AJ Mendez As Scribes. Deadline. D'Alessandro, Anthony. April 20, 2021. December 3, 2021.
  6. Web site: '47 Ronin' Sequel, Starring Anna Akana and Mark Dacascos, Enters Production. Collider. Remley, Hilary. December 2, 2021. December 3, 2021.
  7. Web site: 47 Ronin Sequel in the Works, Anna Akana and Mark Dacascos to Star. Coming Soon. Nash, Anthony. December 2, 2021. December 3, 2021.
  8. Web site: Universal's '47 Ronin' Gets a Facelift With Female-Skewing 'Blade' (Exclusive). Variety. Frater. Patrick. December 17, 2021. December 17, 2021.
  9. Web site: The 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now. DigitalTrends. Girolamo, Dan. November 1, 2022. November 5, 2022.
  10. Web site: Blade of the 47 Ronin Review: An Impressive & Bold Sequel from its Underrated Predecessor. MovieWeb. Navarro, Alexander. October 28, 2022. November 5, 2022.