Netflix’s Last Samurai Standing is a love letter to Tom Cruise’s 2003 film: ‘Something more emotional’

The Netflix series Last Samurai Standing, which premiered on 13 November, takes place in Japan, where the feudal samurai era is coming to an end. The series, directed by Michihito Fujii, honours both Japanese directors like Akira Kurosawa and the original The Last Samurai, which starred Tom Cruise, as per The Independent.

Netflix’s Last Samurai Standing

Junichi Okada's character, Saga Kokushu, is one of dozens of samurai who take part in a survival game to preserve honour, family, and the community. Each time a rival is killed, participants are given a new wooden tag to wear. The last samurai standing is promised 100 billion yen, or $650 million.

Tom Cruise’s performance as the samurai hero in Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai (2003) was a huge success in Japan, and it aided the Hollywood careers of Japanese celebrities like Hiroyuki Sanada and Ken Watanabe.

Junichi Okada, who is also the choreographer and producer of Last Samurai Standing, said: “The purpose we had in mind was to update the jidaigeki (period drama).”

“We took the want-to approach, keeping in mind that, while thoroughly studying jidaigeki, we were going to do what we wanted to make, and make something that looked absolutely cool,” Okada added.

Okada is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has acted in several films, like Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One and The Eternal Zero, which is about World War II Zero pilots.

Okada previously collaborated with filmmaker Fujii on the 2023 movie Hard Days, which tells the story of a police officer who attempts to conceal a hit-and-run. Fujii was personally chosen by Okada for Last Samurai Standing.

“We wanted something more emotional, with more of a story, and more depth in character portrayal, more of a depiction of culture. That’s what I kept in mind,” he said.

Violence in Last Samurai Standing

Along with a lot of blood and gore, there are flying severed heads and swords that spew sparks in Last Samurai Standing. Okada said the actors wore fireproof gear and ran the risk of getting burned in a scene where the swordsmen's bodies catch fire.

The work's plot, which revolves around the universal topic of being trapped in a brutal society in transition, keeps it from becoming a dull sequence of action sequences.

Himizu and Parasyte star Shota Sometani, Kazunari Ninomiya, who made a noteworthy appearance in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima, and Takayuki Yamada, who has starred in several films and television series, including Netflix's The Naked Director, are also in the cast.

FAQs

When did Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai come out?

Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai came out in 2003.

What role does Junichi Okada play in Last Samurai Standing?

Junichi Okada plays Saga Kokushu in Last Samurai Standing.

Does Junichi Okada know Brazilian jiu-jitsu?

Yes, Junichi Okada is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.