Ninja Scroll live-action movie gets writer

[atlanime]

The Hollywood Reporter newspaper notes in a Monday article that Alex Tse, a co-writer of the live-action Watchmen film, wrote a film script for Warner Brothers' proposed live-action adaptation of the Ninja Scroll anime. Yoshiaki Kawajiri wrote and directed the original 1993 anime film about a wandering ninja fighting a conspiracy of demons. Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company acquired the live-action adaptation rights to the anime for Warner Brothers in 2008.

Tse and David Hayter (X-Men, The Scorpion King) co-wrote the live-action film adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen graphic novel. Tse and Watchmen director Zack Snyder also co-wrote the Tales of the Black Freighter animated video based on Watchmen's "comic-within-a-comic" story. Tse has since written a script for Warner Brothers' planned new film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man classic short story anthology. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tse is scripting a proposed film version of John Twelve Hawks' Fourth Realm trilogy of science-fiction novels.

In Japan, Tatsuo Sato directed a Ninja Scroll television anime sequel for the MADHOUSE anime studio in 2003. MADHOUSE co-founder Masao Maruyama is still working on plans for a second Ninja Scroll anime film. However, as of 2008, project still needs a script that is acceptable to Maruyama himself and Kawajiri.