Chadwick Boseman to Star in Samurai Drama 'Yasuke'

The 'Black Panther' star is set to play the first black samurai to serve a warlord in Japan in the period action pic.

Chadwick Boseman is set to star in the action drama Yasuke as an African samurai warrior, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Boseman will play the role of Yasuke, the Japanese name of a samurai of African origin who fought under a Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga during the 1580s. The period action drama is based on the historical tale of the only known African to reach the samurai ranking in feudal Japan.

"The legend of Yasuke is one of history's best kept secrets, the only person of non-Asian origin to become a samurai. That's not just an action movie, that’s a cultural event, an exchange, and I am excited to be part of it," Boseman said in a statement.

The Yasuke movie adaptation will be produced by Eric Feig's Picturestart, De Luca Productions, Solipsist Films, and X?ception Content. Michael De Luca and Stephen L’Heureux earlier were developing the film as a co-production between Solipsist and De Luca Productions in partnership with Lionsgate.

De Luca, L’Heureux, Boseman and Logan Coles will now share the producer credits. Doug Miro (Narcos) is penning the screenplay.

Boseman, who is repped by Michael Greene & Associates and Management 360, also appears as T'Challa in Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame.