The Color Purple director Blitz Bazawule has set his next film, and it will tackle the history-making Black samurai who lived in ancient Japan.

Variety reports that Bazawule will direct a film based on the samurai Yasuke, one of the most famous samurai in history and one of the most unique, since he was Japan’s first Black samurai. Reportedly, the film project was highly sought after, with Warner Bros. winning the bidding war over three other studios and streamers. Makes sense, since Bazawule has already worked with Warner Bros. for The Color Purple.

Going by the current title Black Samurai, the film will be written and directed by Bazaule and produced through his company, Inward Gaze. He will tell his version of Yasuke’s story, including how Yasuke was an African warrior who became part of daimyo Oda Nobunaga’s entourage in 16th century Japan. According to the article, the film won’t be a straightforward biopic but will instead have stylistic choices similar to Mad Max and 300.

The legend and history of Yasuke has been the center of “blerd” circles for several years at this point, and his legendary life has slowly made its way to into mainstream Black Hollywood thanks to Black alternative creators like animator Lesean Thomas and star/executive producer LaKeith Stanfield, who brought Yasuke, an animated series, to Netflix in 2021. Prior to this animated series, manga creator Takashi Okazaki wrote and illustrated Afro Samurai between 1998 and 2002, loosely baesd on Yasuke’s life and Okazaki’s love of hip hop and soul music. The manga eventually became an Emmy-nominated anime starring Samuel L. Jackson as the voice of Afro Samurai and features the music of RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan.