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ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM

Afro Samurai, the cult-hit manga and anime series, is leaping to the big screen, with a little help from Samuel L. Jackson.

The Academy Award nominee, who voiced the character in the 2007 television miniseries and the 2009 made-for-TV movie, is teaming with Gonzo Studios and the Indomina Group to produce a live-action film.

The manga by Takashi Okazaki blends elements of soul, hip-hop, Japanese culture and American media to tell the story set in a futuristic yet feudal Japan, where Afro Samurai seeks revenge for the murder of his father at the hands of a gunslinger named Justice. The made-for-TV movie, Afro: Samurai: Resurrection, won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, and was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program. Plans for a live-action adaptation were mentioned as far back as 2006.

“This has been one of my very favorite properties ever since our amazing debut at Comic Con with the original series pilot out of Japan," Jackson said in a statement.

Indomnia plans to attach a writer and director this summer and wrap up casting by the end of the year. The film will be shot next year at Pinewood Indomina Studios in the Dominican Republic.