The Ghost Of Tsushima Movie Has Found Its Screenwriter

The "Ghost of Tsushima" movie, based on the popular 2020 Sony Interactive video game, has found its writer. The movie will be directed by "John Wick" franchise helmer Chad Stahelski, which means the game's samurai-inspired action sequences should pack plenty of punch. Deadline reports that Takashi Doscher will pen the screenplay for the upcoming Sony Pictures production. The project is still in early development, but having a screenwriter is usually one of the biggest early hurdles, so this is huge news for "Ghost" moving forward. The wildly popular video game has its roots in classic Japanese cinema, so this is one adaptation that might make the transition to the big screen more easily. 

Doscher is best known for his two feature films, "Still" and "Only," both of which he wrote and directed. "Still" is a fantasy mystery film starring Madeleine Brewer and is currently available on Hulu, while "Only" is a gender apocalypse romance starring Freida Pinto and Leslie Odom, Jr., and is currently available on Netflix. The game was made by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Playstation 4 and 5 systems in 2020. It follows Jin Sakai, a samurai warrior whose entire world is turned upside down when invading Mongol forces defeat the samurai. In order to survive and save his homeland, he must give up his time-honored samurai traditions and adapt to a new way of war. Doscher has plenty of great material to draw from, as critics praised the game's complex narrative and deeply thought-out characters. 

The game took its inspiration from the films of Akira Kurosawa and even included a "Kurosawa mode" that lets you play the game in black and white, so audiences should expect the film to pay homage to the beloved Japanese director. Combined with the talents of Stahelski, who knows how to make a killer martial arts flick, "Ghost of Tsushima" could be a rare video game movie that lives up to its console-based counterpart. 

The "Ghost of Tsushima" video game was wildly popular with fans, who made it Playstation 4's fastest-selling first-party original IP debut. It won Best Art Direction at the Game Awards in 2020 and was nominated for another six awards. Since its debut, the game has sold more than 6.5 million copies, which means that the movie has a pretty big built-in fanbase. There aren't many more details out there at this point and no set release date, but /Film have updates as soon as they're available, so stay tuned.