Ghost of Tsushima movie will be "a complete Japanese cast, in Japanese"

Director Chad Stahelski has confirmed that his movie adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima will be “a complete Japanese cast, in Japanese”.

Speaking to Collider, Stahelski said that while it may “scare the shit out of most people”, Sony is “on board with backing [him] on that” and “Western audiences in general are getting more and more used to [reading subtitles]”.

“Honestly, its probably the same things that would scare the shit out of most people. Its a fantasy period piece,” he said. “Its done with reverence to Akira Kurosawa, whos probably in the top five biggest influences of my life as far as film goes. Its a chance to push technology and people in a story thats timeless. Its your typical mythological story of good versus evil, finding a man, watching him change the world or the world changes him. Its all the Joseph Campbell stuff that youd love in a story. You put that in with, obviously, so Im told I have a bit of a Samurai fetish, which is probably true from Manga and anime and stuff.

“So, I think if we did this right, it would be visually stunning,” Stahelski added. “Its character driven. Its got an opportunity for great action, great looks. And honestly, wed to try to do it, all in character. Meaning, its a Japanese thing about the Mongols invading Tsushima island.

“A complete Japanese cast, in Japanese. Sony is so on board with backing us on that. Ive been going to Japan since I was 16. I have a love of the country, love of the people, love of the language. To try to direct not only in my language, but someone elses and culturally shift my mindset to bring apart that in a cool way that still entices a Western audience.”

Ghost of Tsushima has sold almost 10m copies since it launched in July 2020 and as part of the two-year anniversary celebrations, developer Sucker Punch revealed a number of stats about how weve played the game, including news that 9.73m copies have been sold since it released in the summer of 2020.

The sad news, though, is that the studio confirmed in April that it had stopped “actively working” on additional patches and content for Ghost of Tsushima.

Sadly, it doesnt look like well get the chance to play a new Sly cooper or Infamous game any tine soon, either. Sucker Punch – which was bought by Sony back in 2011 – recently confirmed it has “no plans to revisit” its Infamous or Sly Cooper franchises.

In a blog celebrating the studios 25th anniversary earlier this month, the team said that whilst it was “proud to look back on the legacy of characters and stories” it had created, it is now focused “on [its] current project”.

“As we approach 25 years since Sucker Punch first opened, we’re proud to look back on the legacy of characters and stories we’ve created, from Rocket: Robot on Wheels to Sly Cooper and infamous, and most recently Ghost of Tsushima,” the developer said.