A Samurai Jack movie? In the right hands, that could be pretty cool. Well then... Director Tarsem Singh, the guy behind Immortals and the upcoming Snow White tale Mirror, Mirror, recently expressed that his secret wish is to direct and produce a live action adaptation of the Cartoon Network series Samurai Jack: What 'Immortals' Director Tarsem Singh Really Wants to Do: Direct a 'Samurai Jack' Movie.
Jack was an edgy and hyperactive animated show created by Genndy Tartakovsky that ran for three seasons on the Cartoon Network starting in 2001. It centered on a warrior from feudal Japan banished into the future by a shape-changing demon, with the warrior battling aliens and robots as he tries to find a way back. The show was known for its varied art styles, the use of split screens and multi-angles, and for long sequences that were dialogue free, all of which contributed to it winning four Emmys.1) I'm sooooo deeply thankful that that Brett Ratner, who was attached to direct and produce a Samurai Jack adaptation in the early 2000s, never got that movie off the ground. 2) Seriously, how friggin' cool would a Tarsem-directed Samurai Jack be? You know it would at least look pretty damn amazing.
Singh told The Hollywood Reporter he has little interest in comic book movies but "I love Samurai Jack. I would love to direct that." He said it's the epic style, pace and art that he admires.
"It's brilliant. The speed, it embraces where it comes from. I find that comic strip films are halfway grounded. They don't play my chord. But I love Samurai Jack. I love the animation," he said.
Of course, this is all simply a wish list. I don't what state the movie rights are in. Somebody at Cartoon Network, please get on this. I'm certainly all for it... until, of course, they inevitably cast a white actor to star as Jack. Dammit.