The New Rashomon Based TV Series Coming to HBO Max (original) (raw)

Back in 2018, I wrote about news that the Steven Spielberg founded production company Amblin Television had acquired television rights to Akira Kurosawa’s film classic Rashomon. There hasn’t been much news about the project since, but now a new press release announces that the project has landed at HBO Max for further development.

The series will not be a direct adaptation of the source film, but apparently still revolves around a murder and sexual assault that is seen through multiple competing points of view. The production team consists of industry veterans whose backgrounds include films and shows like The Americans, 300 and Den of Thieves, while the writing duties are shared by the silver screen screenwriter Bill Ray whose credits include Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games and Terminator: Dark Fate, and the television veteran Virgil Williams who has written and produced shows like 24, ER and Criminal Minds. All in all, the show should be in great hands.

The press release also emphasises the upcoming show’s relationship with Kurosawa’s original film, quoting the writing partners saying that “Our partnership on ‘Rashomon’ is based on our mutual pledge to make every single episode, every scene, and every character of this show a loving homage to Kurosawa’s talent as an artist. That’s our true north.”

And even Kurosawa Productions seems to be involved on some level, or at least the press release quotes Akira Kurosawa’s son and Kurosawa Productions president Hisao Kurosawa as saying that he is: “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.”

No word yet on when the show will be released, but this one looks like something to keep an eye on!