Titus Welliver Joins Voice Cast of GET JIRO as Anthony Bourdain's Graphic Novel Adaptation Serves Up Food, Mayhem, and Violence

Fans of Anthony Bourdain are finally getting a closer look at one of his most unique creations as Get Jiro prepares to make its debut on Adult Swim later this year.

The animated series adaptation of Bourdain and Joel Rose’s acclaimed graphic novel is shaping up to be a wild mix of culinary obsession, crime, and chaos, and now there's even more talent joining the cast.

Series creator Alessandro Tanaka recently revealed that Titus Welliver (Bosch), Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim), and Justin Kirk (Weeds) have joined the voice cast. They’ll appear alongside the previously announced Brian Tee (Chicago Med), who is leading the charge in the adaptation.

Based on the New York Times bestselling DC/Vertigo graphic novels created by Bourdain and Rose, with artwork from Langdon Foss and Alé Garza, Get Jiro transports audiences into a dystopian version of Los Angeles where chefs hold more power than politicians, celebrities, or tech moguls.

Tanaka explained the central idea behind the story, saying: “Bourdain’s whole mantra was just food brings us together… and then there’s a lot of blood and violence in between [in Get Jiro], but ultimately that’s the takeaway,”

The 10-episode series, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, follows the mysterious sushi chef Jiro, who arrives in Los Angeles from Tokyo and quickly finds himself at the center of a culinary power struggle unlike anything audiences have seen before.

Tanaka offered more insight into the show's unusual world: “Everybody’s needs are being met digitally, whether it’s sex or travel, you can put on goggles and go anywhere, but the one thing you cannot do is eat and taste food, and because of that, chefs have become the most powerful people in Los Angeles.

“They’re like gangsters as they take each other out. The comic starts where this mysterious Japanese sushi chef (Jiro) lands in Los Angeles, and he starts playing everyone against each other.

“As the series continues, we see that there’s a whole method to his madness, and the entire thing is like him creating a recipe for the grand finale. A lot of food, mayhem and violence happens.”

That story sounds like something Bourdain would have had a blast with. It takes his love of food culture and cranks it up into a hyper-stylized battle for influence where meals are currency and chefs rule the streets.

Of course, adapting a story with Bourdain’s name attached meant the creative team had to make sure the food itself felt authentic. Tanaka revealed that they brought in one of Bourdain’s close friends and collaborators to help keep things honest throughout production.

“We really needed to make sure, obviously, that we got the food right,” Tanaka said. “We got this guy named Matt Goulding, who was a coworker and a very good friend of Bourdain’s. He would read every script, look at every animatic and watch every episode.”

Beyond the food, the creative team also looked to classic cinema for inspiration. According to Tanaka, legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa played a major role in shaping the show's tone and visual style.

“Kurosawa was a big part of the comic, it feels a lot like Yojimbo,” Tanaka said. “We’re dealing with such a cinephile [in Bourdain], and Brian and I are also huge lovers of cinema, so we wanted to make sure that every episode had a very cinematic flair.”

While the original comics provided a strong foundation, expanding the story into a ten-episode series gave the writers room to flesh out the world and introduce new elements.

“We had to expand on what was already there, which includes creating a couple of new characters, some extra storylines,” Tanaka said.

“There’s one [new] villain, and we’ll just refer to him as the cannibal, that hopefully people will enjoy, but mostly it was about taking the characters that were already there and just deepening them and finding more about them.”

That mysterious new villain sounds like exactly the kind of unsettling ingredient that could fit perfectly into the bizarre and dangerous world of Get Jiro.

With A24 also set to release the Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony this August, interest in the late chef, author, and storyteller remains as strong as ever. Tanaka acknowledged that adapting one of Bourdain's most beloved projects came with plenty of responsibility.

“There was pressure going in because [Bourdain’s] presence looms very strongly over this, but I think he would be very happy with what we did, and I think we did right by him.”

Get Jiro is shaping up to be one of Adult Swim's most intriguing animated projects, and I can’t wait to watch it!

Source: Deadline