Principal photography on the sequel to Keanu Reeves’ 2013 fantasy action film, 47 Ronin, officially started yesterday in Budapest. As production on the Universal 1440 Entertainment drama begins, Anna Akana and Mark Dacascos have been cast in lead roles, Coming Soon is reporting.
Akana is known for starring in such movies as Ant-Man and Jupiter’s Legacy. Dacascos is an action film veteran who co-starred with Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. The latter won’t reprise his role of Kai from the first 47 Ronin, which follows the character, an outcast samurai, as he joins 46 other samurai to defeat a powerful and supernatural enemy, in the series’ second installment.
The upcoming adventure drama will be set in modern day, approximately 300 years after the events of its predecessor.
The movie will tell the story of contemporary samurai clans who now exist in complete secrecy.
The untitled follow-up was penned by John Swetnam (Breaking Through, Into the Storm, Step Up All In) and first-time feature film writers Aimee Garcia and A.J. Mendez. Universal 1440 Entertainment is hoping the franchise’s new scribes will help reinvigorate the series, as the original entry wasn’t well received when it was initially released in theaters. The drama has since received a cult following amongst genre fans.
The movie is being directed by Ron Yuan, who previously helmed the films Step Up China and Unspoken: Diary of an Assassin In addition to Akana and Dacascos, the sequel is also starring Teresa Ting (Orange Is the New Black), Mike Moh (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Dustin Nguyen (Little Fish), Yoshi Sudarso (Buffalo Boys), and Chris Pang (Crazy Rich Asians).
While discussing the upcoming drama, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Universal 1440 Entertainment Glenn Ross said: “We are excited to continue the story of these ancient Japanese samurai warriors with this next chapter of the 47 Ronin film franchise set in modern times.” He added that Yuan is creating a “vision of diverse and inclusive samurai warriors.
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No specific release date has yet been set for the franchise’s second installment. However, it’s expected be distributed on non-theatrical platforms sometime next year.