Ghost Of Tsushima Director Wants To Make A Japanese-Language Movie Version

Chad Stahelski (John Wick) has shared that as director of the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima movie adaptation, he hopes to honor the game’s homage to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa by filming the movie with a Japanese cast that will also deliver the movie’s dialog in Japanese.

Speaking to Collider, Stahelski shared that beyond this project, just in general, Kurosawa is in his “top five biggest influences of my life, as far as film goes.” Stahleski added that game publisher Sony is “so on board with backing us” with his plans to feature a “complete Japanese cast.”

In addition to having Sony’s support, Stahelski feels Western audiences are ready for a theatrical experience that would require subtitles on the strength of international content including Netflix’s Squid Game and the 2019 Korean black comedy, Parasite.

Ghost of Tsushima is a 2020 video game developed by Sucker Punch Productions, loosely based on historical events. Players are cast in the role of one of the last surviving samurai, Jin Sakai, who rises from death in 1274 AD to fight back with help from his allies against the Mongols. In the game, Jin is forced to compromise and ultimately surrender his samurai moral code to wage an unconventional war for Japan’s freedom.

Takashi Doscher is set to write Ghost Of Tsushima’s screenplay.

The movie is coming from Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions, the internal company that is charged with adapting Sony’s video game franchises for TV and film. PlayStation Productions is also behind the Uncharted movie with Tom Holland and the Last of Us TV show with HBO.