Though the original film is 70 years old, Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” remains one of the most influential films ever to be released. To this day, you still hear descriptions of new films and TV projects as “Rashomon”-esque, as the style used to tell the mystery at the heart of the film has inspired so many copycats. Well, decades after the film (and two years after it was announced as a possible project), apparently HBO Max is ready to bring back “Rashomon” as a new TV series, though it’s going to look very different than the Kurosawa original.
According to Deadline, HBO Max has hired “Captain Phillips” writer, Billy Ray, and “Mudbound” writer, Virgil Williams, to develop a new TV series based on the 1950 film, “Rashomon.” The new series will be produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin and will take the basic story of the mystery surrounding a sexual assault and murder and update it for a new reimagining. However, the classic structure of the film, where individual characters relay their point-of-view of what happened, will be the backbone of the series. And before film fans get up in arms, Amblin has done the work to gain the approval from Kurosawa’s family.
Hisao Kurosawa, son of Akira Kurosawa, said, “I am delighted to work with Amblin Partners and HBO Max to reimagine ‘Rashomon’ for today’s audience. I am excited to see my dad’s vision through this inspirational story kept alive and made accessible to a new generation.”
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“Truth has become increasingly fractured in this age of cable news and social media’s ‘say it and it’s true’ culture,” added Amblin Partners Co-Presidents of Television Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. “Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece was not just a murder mystery; it was a revolution in storytelling, as cinema’s most impactful and influential early exploration of subjective points of view and flawed narration. Seventy years after the film’s release, the legacy of ‘Rashomon’ is indisputable and its central themes more relevant than ever. Our series will honor the impact of the original work and explore the age-old concept of objective truth versus subjective perspective in our modern times.”
Obviously, it’s still far too early to know when we might see the new “Rashomon” arrive on TV, but as with anything associated with Kurosawa’s film, we’ll be keeping a close eye on it to see how it all plays out.