Ghost of Tsushima: Chad Stahelski wants to make a Japanese-language movie with a Japanese cast

The film adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima is expected to have an all-Japanese cast and be filmed in Japanese.

Inspired by the work of legendary director Akira Kurosawa, Ghost of Tsushima will be as accurate as Sucker Punch’s PlayStation exclusive retelling of the Kamakura era:

This is a fantastic historical film. This is done with respect to Kurosawa-san, who is probably one of the top 5 most influential people in my life when it comes to films. This is an opportunity to push technology and people towards eternal history. This is a typical mythological story about the confrontation between good and evil, the discovery of man, the vision of how he changes the world or the world changes him. These are all the Joseph Campbell things you love about the story. You of course add to that that I was told that I am a bit of a samurai fetishist, which is probably true for manga, anime and the like. So I think if we do it well it will be visually stunning. This is due to character. There is room for action and aesthetics.

#GhostOfTsushima director Chad Stahelski wants to film in Japanese with a Japanese cast [Exclusive]

Stahelski also told us why he wants to make the film and why he thinks American audiences will see the film in Japanese. https://t.co/MvFPC7t2XL

— Collider (@Collider) August 12, 2022

The only Japanese film for Ghost of Tsushima

Director Chad Stahelski has ambitions to create an authentic and gripping adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima:

We will try to stay the same until the end. In other words, the Mongols invading Tsushima Island is a Japanese thing. All actors will be Japanese in order to offer a film in Japanese. Sony fully agrees to support us in this matter. I have been going to Japan since I was 16. I love the country, I love the people, I love the language. I tried to direct not only in my own language, but also in a foreign one, and change my cultural mindset to put it all in a cool way that Western audiences still like.

The Phantom of Tsushima, the Art of Japanese Cinema Abroad

Offering a Japanese-language film with a Japanese cast for Ghost of Tsushima, Chad Stahelski realizes that he can destabilize the audience, not attract them. However, he is convinced that the mentality has changed in recent years, thanks in part to the success of Squid Game or Parasite:

No one will give me $200 million to make a cutting edge film without speaking English. I understand. So I have to be smart and figure out what’s best for the license and the studio, while still getting what I want and doing something epic. Again, this is a big challenge. And we are entering a period where I think it is. I read subtitles all day. And I think that America in general, or at least the Western audience in general, is becoming more and more used to it because of the influence of Netflix and other streaming broadcasters, where we get a lot more content around the world. Will they be showing up in theaters for this? I bet yes, if everything else is there. I think it could hurt me or the license if we lose in every case (visually it’s not great, the action is correct or the story is incomprehensible). Listen,