If Takashi Miike was going to go Hollywood, you’d hope he’d go for something edgy like his Japanese flicks Audition, Dead Or Alive, or Ichi The Killer. However he is an extremely versatile helmer who directs an almost farcical amount of movies (it’s rare he doesn’t make at least two a year, and sometimes more) in all sorts of different genres.
Now THR reports that Miike may well direct a US version of his live-action film Nintama Rantaro (Ninja Kids!!), which just screened at the New York Asian Film Festival in July. Based on the long-running manga and TV anime series, Ninja Kids!! centres around the adventures of Rantaro and other ninja apprentices at an elite ninjutsu academy.
Talks are now underway to get the Japanese version a US distribution deal, while negotiations are reported to be already underway with a major production company for an English-language remake. Miike has already remade plenty of other people’s movies (13 Assassins, Hara-Kiri, The Happiness Of The Katakuris), so why not remake his own?
And if you’re wondering whether the slightly insane looking Ninja Kids is worth remaking, check out the trailer below.