Acclaimed manga set for big screen.
Deadline reports that Kamala Films has acquired the feature rights to Kazuo Koike’s acclaimed manga ‘Lone Wolf and Cub,’ with Justin Lin (‘Fast Five,’ ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’) attached to direct.
First published in 1970, the manga chronicles the story of Ogami Ittō, the Shogun’s elite executioner who uses a dōtanuki battle sword. In an attempt to take his position, the rival Yagyū clan falsely accuses Itto of a crime and murders his wife. Disgraced, Itto is forced to wander Japan with his three-year-old son Daigoro as an assassin for hire, earning the title “Lone Wolf and Cub.” Ultimately, Itto and Daigoro seek revenge on the Yagyu clan.
David Peoples and his wife Janet are penning the script. The scribes’ credits include ‘Blade Runner,’ ‘Unforgiven’ and ‘Twelve Monkeys.’
‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ has been adapted several times before. Six films with Tomisaburô Wakayama in the lead role were released in the 1970s, followed by four plays and a television series. In 1980 the six films were condensed into a single feature called ‘Shogun Assassin.’ The film was referenced in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill: Vol. 2.’