USAGI YOJIMBO is Being Developed as an Animated Series with James Wan!

Usagi Yojimbo is a Dark Horse comic about a samurai bunny during the Edo period of Japan’s history and it has been optioned for an animated TV series. Usagi’s creator Stan Sakai confirmed that Gaumont would be the studio for the series and that James Wan (The Conjuring, Insidious, Furious 7) )will be involved.

Yes, Usagi has been optioned for a TV series by Gaumont, the oldest film company in the world. Also involved is James Wan who created the Saw franchise and is director of the upcoming Aquaman movie.

— Stan Sakai (@usagiguy) February 7, 2018

Nicolas Atlan, President of Animation at Gaumont, commented after the announcement went live:

“Usagi Yojimbo has been much sought after for many years, and we are honored to work with Stan Sakai to translate his multi-generational stories into the first ever TV series.

Usagi Yojimbo’s blend of history and mythology, clever balance between action and comedy, and real-world touchpoints combined with the supernatural, together with the passionate fan base that Stan has already amassed, makes this an incredibly exciting property to develop with our partners Atomic Monster and Dark Horse Entertainment.”

I think this series could be a lot of fun. An anthropomorphic samurai rabbit sounds like an amazing hero. Here’s a summary of the comics in case you’re unfamiliar with the series:

“Usagi Yojimbo is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai. It is set primarily at the beginning of the Edo period of Japanese history and features anthropomorphic animals replacing humans. The main character is a rabbit rōnin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom Sakai based partially on the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Usagi wanders the land on a musha shugyō (warrior’s pilgrimage), occasionally selling his services as a bodyguard.”

Source: ComicBook