After The Last of Us and Fallout, Prime Video will adapt another popular video game license ;o in series. The platform wants to establish itself as the reference in the genre.
After The last of us and Fallout
The Legend of Zelda, Borderlands, season 2 of The Last of US, Minecraft, the trend of offering the most popular video games a variation in film or series has accelerated since the monumental cardboard produced in by Super Mario Bros. hit theaters last year. As a reminder, it was the most profitable film in 2023 with $1.3 billion in revenue worldwide.
In the face of confirmation that video games know how to export to small and large screen, the studios see it as a way to offer a fresh look at the medium and replenish the coffers. It is in this context that several popular licenses will soon see the light of day. Prime Video did not wait for the success of the Nintendo franchise to try its hand at exercise. In 2023, the streaming service has proven itself. its capacity à fairly faithfully transpose the firstThe Last of Usinto a rather successful season 1.More mixed result this year with the first act ofFallout,which is nevertheless full of good things.
a yakuza series at prime video
But the platform does not intend to stop there; in the field of adaptation, since another popular video game license has officially been released. announced: Like a Dragon: Yakuza. Prime Video announces that the project will return to the youth of Kazuma Kiryu, the main protagonist of the first game. The series will therefore be greatly inspired by the first part of the franchise. Presented as a“formidable and peerless Yakuza warrior equipped with a strong sense of justice, duty and humanity, Kazuma Kiryu will be played as by Ryoma Takeuchi. The actor was quick to respond. to react to the information communicated by Prime Video, and to evoke the first visual revealed, on which his character sports a huge tattoo on the back.
You can't play Kazuma Kiryu without getting in shape, so I knew I had to go for it. It was a job not only for me but also for the costume and makeup teams. It took two and a half hours just to prepare this plan.
For his part, director Masaharu Take spoke about of the actor's involvement in his new role.
Having someone with as much physical presence as Takeuchi makes all the difference. I understood that he knew his body better than anyone, so I let him do it. the care of getting in shape. Takeuchi also did all the actions himself. It was impressive. In 1995, the protagonist is still young and he makes a lot of mistakes, which cause him to spend a decade in prison and with consequences that he will suffer forever. its release in 2005. I tried to to show these differences between the two periods, and the casting also contributed to this. à achieve this.
As reported by Masaharu Take, the live action series will be divided into two parts. the first will take place in 1995, and the second in 2005. This is undoubtedly why the series will be broadcast in two parts, with the first episodes from October 25, 2024 then the rest on November 1.
popularity of Yakuza in the West
As a reminder, the first game tells the story of Kazuma Kiryu, an ex-yakuza from the Tojo clan who finds his freedom again. after ten years spent in prison at because of a crime he did not commit. Once back in his neighborhood of Kamurochō (which will be reconstituted for the purposes of the series) he learns that a jackpot of ten million yen has been taken from him. hidden to the clan.
At first very popular in Japan, the license has gained popularity. renowned in the West after several very successful opuses. The last part Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth released at the start of the This year quickly met with a great success on Steam with more than 46,000 players simultaneously, and has since passed. à more than a million copies in just one week.