Netflix orders Game Of Thrones-esque samurai docu-drama

According to Deadline, Netflix is putting together a “docu-drama” about feudal Japan that it’s positioning as “a real-life Game Of Thrones.” The Deadline story says the show will be called Age Of Samurai: Battle For Japan, and it will be about “the warring kingdoms of feudal Japan when several powerful warlords fought to become absolute ruler” with a particular focus on the story of Date Masamune—a “notorious samurai known as the ‘One-Eyed Dragon’” because he stabbed out his own eye after it became infected by smallpox when he was a child. He also apparently murdered his younger brother and “is thought to have been the inspiration for the design of Darth Vader’s iconic helmet.”

Meanwhile, if the term “docu-drama” sounds a little dry, Age Of Samurai is going to be a “stylized drama that will pay homage to the noir of graphic novels and Japanese art.” The show is also being co-produced by Smithsonian Canada and Cream Productions, and it’s supposed to air at some point later this year. (That seemingly quick turnaround implies that it won’t be as lavishly expensive as Game Of Thrones was.)