Movie Dream Team: SAMURAI JACK

Movie Movie Dream Team Samurai Jack about 9 years agoby June Smith

Here we are for another Movie Dream Team article. This time we’re diving into an intellectual property that I love the crap out of. Samurai Jack helped me learn a lot about the world-building wonders that a new sci-fi title can bring. The universe surrounding the unknown samurai warrior from the past dubbed “Jack” is huge and confusing. We learn about the wonderful species and technologies that this mythical future hold right alongside our hero. In this time of wildly successful comic book movies, we are in a perfect setting to release a totally bitchin’ Samurai Jack movie. How would I make it? Well, that’s why you’re here, right? So let’s get this started!

The Plot

My ideal Samurai Jack story would be in the form of an ongoing series of films like Mad Max, where we are following Jack’s story through each film, but the individual films focus on the other characters the young samurai helps on his way back to the past. There are not many returning characters in the world of Samurai Jack, so casting Jack and Aku are key. Our first film would come in during the final moments of the first episode. A brief narration would cover Jack’s journey after leaving his village and training with the world’s greatest warriors. We come in as Jack returns to Japan and meets with his mother, who is in hiding from Aku's forces to claim his father’s magic sword. He frees his father from Aku’s servitude and faces the evil sorceror for a final showdown. Just before delivering the final blow, Aku flings the young samurai into the distant future where Aku’s dark magic rules over the entire galaxy.

Rather than fill this article up with a detailed synopsis of every film I think should be in my dream Samurai Jack anthology, I’ll instead list the episodes that should be turned into full fledged films.

Jack and the Scotsman
Jack and the Warrior Woman
Demongo the Soul Collector
The Tale of X-9
Jack and the Guardian

The Directors

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have a knack for translating stories built for children into things both kids and adults can enjoy together. With a property like Samurai Jack, it is incredibly important for it to introduce the characters to a new generation while still being fun and brimming with nostalgia for the parents taking them to see it. Between The LEGO Movie and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, the duo have proven they can handle humor for both generations very well. And with them being entrusted with the upcoming Han Solo spin-off, I think we can let them shape our beloved time-traveling samurai the way they want.

The Cast

Brian Tee has the two things I think it takes to make a great Samurai Jack. One, he has the look. Tee has a very strong, distinct chin with a long, slim face and very expressive eyebrows, perfect for a larger than life character like Jack. Two, he has plenty of experience in both serious action and comedic roles. I tossed around about a dozen different choices for Jack, and in the end, Brian Tee was my perfect fit.

Obviously if this mortal realm of ours was still blessed with the amazing voice talents of Makoto "Mako" Iwamatsu, I would want him to reprise his role as Aku. But since we base these Dream Teams on actors that could actually be cast in these films, I'm going with my second choice: Ken Watanabe. Easily one of my favorite English-speaking Japanese actors, Watanabe has the chops to carry a both intimidating and weirdly endearing villain like Aku. Infusing a touch of humor into this villain is important, and I'd love to see Watanabe voice a character like that.

John DiMaggio did a fantastic job as The Scotsman in the cartoon, and in my opinion there is only one actor who has that over-the-top Scottish accent he pulled off. That man is Gerard Butler. (Admit it, you said his name as "Gerar But-leh" in your best Scottish accent.) Like Brian Tee, Butler has that perfect combo of serious action and great comedic roles under his belt and I think the two of them could feed off each other very well.

A bit of an unknown, Bridget Regan has that perfect modern femme fatale look. Aku takes on the form of a strong, beautiful seductress to trick Jack into helping him acquire a gem of great power. Whoever fills that role has to be able to steal the screen with her mystery and beauty alone. Bridget Regan did that for me in John Wick, and I'd really like to see her in a bigger role like this.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the voice of X-9

Oh X-9...you deserved a spin-off show all your own. When re-watching this series episode I couldn't help but picture the montage from Looper where we see Joseph Gordon-Levitt transform into Bruce Willis. The guy has shown us he is great at inhabiting this noir sci-fi style and I'd love to hear him act out the classic noir lines of X-9. JGL would be amazing as the android built with the ability to feel emotions!

The overly high pitched voice of Demongo would be a bit much for a modern film. But the incredibly talented Troy Baker could bring a great balance to this villain. I picture something between his voice used for Shinnok on Mortal Kombat X and his adaptation of Mark Hamill's Joker. Baker would be great at bringing this eccentric villain to life on the big screen.

I think my perfect Guardian would have been Michael Clarke Duncan, but like Mako, sadly he wouldn't be available. However, Terry Crews could very easily embody the intimidating and show-boaty Guardian of the passage through time. The Guardian is a fun character because he's not a bad guy, he's actually an important part in Jack's battle against Aku. Crews could do a great job of being the cocky warrior who kicks the shit out of Jack while still seeing his potential as the future savior he will become.

So there it is, my Dream Team for the major players in my dream Samurai Jack film anthology. What would you guys do differently? I love hearing what Dream Team you would cook up. Join me down in the comments as we talk about how amazing it'd be to see a big Hollywood Samurai Jack film. And be sure to check out the rest of our on-going Movie Dream Team column. I'll see you all for the next one!

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