Warner Bros. has optioned the rights to Frank Miller’s Ronin to adapt into a live-action feature, reports Variety. Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) will direct. The graphic novel was published by DC Comics.
In the story, a ronin, or disgraced samurai warrior, bears the shame of allowing his master to be assassinated by a shape-shifting demon in 13th century Japan. When the master’s sword is unearthed in mid-21st century New York, the ronin and the demon are brought to life and battle gangs of mutants and thugs to try to take possession of the mythical sword.
The film will be produced by Gianni Nunnari and Nick Wechsler, with Craig Flores executive producing. Nunnari and Flores, who are partners in Hollywood Gang, were producers on 300. Miller will be an executive producer as well.
The trade adds that Ronin will be shot in a fashion similar to that employed for 300, in which blue- and green-screen filming was done on a Montreal soundstage to create an ancient Greece battleground for a $65 million film.
Ronin is “one of Frank Miller’s earliest and best graphic novel creations, one that has long been a cult graphic novel,” White told the trade. “There is a classic good-evil struggle between the samurai and the demon.”
