A film adaptation of the true story of Yasuke, who served under Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga in 16th century Japan, is in-the-works. Chadwick Boseman (Avengers: Endgame) has officially signed on as Yasuke, dubbed “the first African samurai to swing a sword in Japan”.

Yasuke was a native of Portuguese Mozambique who was brought to Japan as a slave to Jesuit missionaries. The first black man to set foot on Japanese soil, Yasuke’s arrival aroused the interest of Nobunaga, a ruthless warlord seeking to unite the fractured country under his banner. A complex relationship developed between the two men as Yasuke earned Nobunaga’s friendship, respect — and ultimately, the honor, swords and title of samurai (via Deadline).

Picturestart, De Luca Productions and Solipsist & X●ception Content are the companies set to produce the film, which will be penned by Doug Miro (Narcos).

Obviously, the upcoming Yasuke film is not contacted to the Marc Olden book series or Jim Kelly film of the same name (in fact, a series related to Olden’s book, starring Common, is also currently in development) but misleading as it is, we couldn’t help but use its poster/trailer for this article. Besides, we’re all about promoting the classics.

We’ll keep you updated on this project as we learn more.