Spike TV’s acclaimed anime Afro Samurai will mark its return to television with the new full length movie Afro Samurai: Resurrection.
Afro Samurai: Resurrection features Academy-Award nominated actor and executive producer Samuel Jackson reprising his role as the title character.
Emmy-nominated actress Lucy Liu voices Sio, described by the cast as a “beautiful, seductive, and sadistic mastermind plotting to destroy Afro Samurai.”
Mark Hamill, known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the classic Star Wars saga and recently his voice work as the Joker in the animated Batman series, will also join the cast as Bin, Sio’s manservant and protector.
The story picks up with Afro now attempting to move on with his life after avenging the murder of his father and coping with his target status as the recognized best fighter in the world.
“We’re moving on to the next phase of his life. He’s become #1, but reluctantly, and he refuses to actually wear the headband and be #1,” Samuel Jackson told the Los Angeles Times. “He’s gone into seclusion and is doing penance for all the people he’s killed, making little shrines for them. Then this woman shows up and wants to reanimate his father’s skeleton and create some sort of zombie army, which bring him out of retirement to defend his family’s honor.”
Wu-Tang’s the RZA will again handle the film’s soundtrack.
After its initial airing, Spike TV will showcase the motion picture in future installments as four half-hour episodes.
Afro Samurai: Resurrection debuts tonight January 25 from 10PM-12AM on Spike TV.
On February 3, three versions of the film will be released on DVD: an unrated director’s cut, the edited Spike TV airing, and the Blu-Ray version.