Miike Goes Samurai with Thirteen Assassins Remake

As Japanese directors go, you don’t get more prolific, controversial, or downright talented as Takashi Miike. The guy is an amazingly flexible and incredibly gifted director, but he’s also one hell of a freaky dinky dude, and has had his sure of movies where no one “got” or indeed, liked. (”Sukiyaki Western Django”, anyone?) His latest probably won’t require Miike tapping into that freaky dinky side of his personality, because it looks like a straightforward action epic set in the time of the Samurai called “Thirteen Assassins”. Then again, this is Miike…

According to THR, Miike’s latest would be set in the time of Japan’s Shoguns, and concerns 13 assassins who are hired to kill an evil lord. But to do so, they’ll have to get past the evil lord’s legion of bodyguards that have our merry band of assassins outnumbered by 10 to 1. Obviously there will be a lot of killing going on here, but let’s hope it’s not another “Izo”.

Yes, we still remember your “Izo”, Miike. What the hell were you thinking with that one again?

“Thirteen Assassins” will be a remake of the 1963 movie by Eiichi Kudo. That one starred Chiezo Kataoka, Kô Nishimura, Ryohei Uchida, and Isao Natsuyagi. Toshiaki Nakazawa and Jeremy Thomas will produce the remake, which is set to begin lensing in July.

Below: A scene from Miike’s “Izo”. Trust me, it gets weirder.