The world of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comic-book series will be coming to life as Netflix has teamed up with Gaumont to develop a CGI animated series inspired by the classic stories titled Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles.
Usagi Yojimbo was set in the Edo period of Japanese history and featured a world of anthropomorphic animals in place of humans. The series centered on Miyamoto Usagi, a rabbit ronin who wandered the lands selling his services and righting wrongs. However, the Netflix series will be something a little different. Instead of focusing on Usagi, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles will "follow the teenage Rabbit Samurai Yuichi, descendant of the aforementioned great warrior, on his epic quest to become a true samurai. Yuichi will lead a ragtag team of misfit heroes – including a roguish bounty hunter, a cunning ninja, an acrobatic pickpocket and a faithful pet lizard – as he battles depth-charging moles, metal-tipped winged bats, and monsters from another dimension, all in the pursuit to become the best samurai Usagi." It may not be the straight-up adaptation which I'd prefer, but it might wind up being for the better as it will allow the story to chart its own course. Stan Sakai will serve as an executive producer on the series, and said the following in a statement:
It is a pleasure working with Gaumont and Netflix. I am involved in each step of the production and am enthusiastic with the direction we are going into. It is wonderful to expand the Usagi universe by collaborating with so many talented people. I am working with an awesome team and I’m looking forward to finally seeing an Usagi series on the screen! I thank my wonderful fans, friends and family for their support and encouragement over the last 35+ years.
"All of us at Gaumont were honored when Stan trusted us to develop his iconic property into an animated series," added Nicolas Atlan, president of Gaumont in the United States. "This is a first for Usagi Yojimbo. We are thrilled to have Netflix on board as our creative partner so we can together, with the combined artistic talent of Stan Sakai, Dark Horse Entertainment and Atomic Monster take this iconic brand to the next level." As a kid, I associated Usagi Yojimbo with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as he made several appearances in the 80s cartoon, and I even had a Usagi action figure which is probably sitting in a box in my parent's basement at this very moment.