Director Chad Stahelski’s planned Ghost of Tsushima adaptation recently got a promising update from the filmmaker himself, who suggested the project is making progress.
In an interview with Total Film, as reported by Slashfilm, the John Wick 4 director explained, “[‘Ghost of Tsushima’] would be my favorite to do next. Without going into crazy detail, it’s something I’m super-interested in. We have a really great script. We have a really good creative team behind it. It’s just about getting all the business end of things locked in. It’s kind of in that little bit of flux where everybody is trying to tighten up the deal to get everything going, and to make sure we do the best with it.”
He went on to discuss the passion going into the project and the technological capabilities it has at its disposal to bring the world of Sucker Punch Productions’ video game to life. “Obviously, ‘Ghost’ is a special project. Everybody realises it. Everybody wants to do it, with the introduction of new technologies and a new way to do the epic samurai vibe… There’s just a lot of things to put together before we really pull the trigger on making it, mostly from my side creatively. And we’re in that process right now,” Chahelski said.
What Fans Know About the Ghost of Tsushima Film
Chahelski announced his plans to helm a Ghost of Tsushima adaptation back in 2021, which he also produce along with Alex Young and Jason Spitz through their production company, 87Eleven Entertainment. Serving as executive producers on the film are Sucker Punch Productions, as well as Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan for PlayStation Productions. While there have been no major updates since then, Chahelski previously assured that it is coming along and that the crew behind the project is taking its time with it. “We’re working very closely with the game developers to make sure we stick to what’s great about it,” he explained.
But while details about the film itself are scarce, the filmmaker previously expressed his desire to make a Ghost of Tsushima adaptation with an all-Japanese cast with Japanese dialogue rather than English. He suggested he wanted to use his personal passion for Japan and its people and culture to “try to direct not only in my language but someone else’s and culturally shift my mindset to bring apart that in a cool way that still entices a Western audience.” He added that Sony is supportive of that approach to the film.
It’s worth noting Ghost of Tsushima encourages players to play the game in both an Akira Kurosawa-inspired mode, as well as a Japanese language mode with English subtitles. The game was released in 2020 and follows the journey of former Samurai Jin Sakai, who is forced to abandon his order’s values and code of honor when his home of Tsushima falls under siege by invading Mongol forces. The game earned widespread praise upon release and a number of accolades.
Ghost of Tsushima is available to play on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Source: Total Film Magazine, via SlashFilm
