‘Blue Eye Samurai’ Animated Series Set at Netflix

Tyler Hersko
·2 min read

It’s been a busy month for animated television at Netflix. The streaming service has greenlit “Blue Eye Samurai,” a new animated action series from Michael Green and Amber Noizumi.

The upcoming series focuses on a mixed-race master of the sword who lives a life in disguise while questing for revenge in Edo-period Japan.

The voice cast for Netflix’s upcoming animated series includes Maya Erskine, George Takei, Masi Oka, Randall Park, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Song, and Darren Barnet.

A release date for the project is under wraps.

Green and Noizumi serve as creators, showrunners, writers, and executive producers for the project. “Blue Eye Samurai” will be produced by Jane Wu, who will also serve as supervising director. Erwin Stoff will executive produce.

“Our story is a larger-than-life action-adventure that takes place 400 years ago, yet ‘Blue Eye Samurai’s’ themes are of the moment and the inspiration is deeply personal. We are grateful for Netflix’s passion for this story and for their bold vision for sophisticated animated drama,” Green and Noizumi said in a statement.

“Blue Eye Samurai” is the latest in a string of high-profile voice roles for Erskine. She recently starred in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Scoob!,” which premiered in May, and also appeared in episodes of “BoJack Horseman,” “Bob’s Burgers,” and “Crossing Swords” earlier in the year.

The “Blue Eye Samurai” announcement is one of several animation projects Netflix has teased in October. The streaming service recently revealed the trailer for “Blood of Zeus,” an original animated project from the studio behind Netflix’s popular “Castlevania” series, which is an adaptation of the classic video game franchise. “Blood of Zeus” will premiere on Netflix on October 27. Netflix also recently announced a new Godzilla anime, subtitled “Singular Point,” which will premiere sometime in 2021.

Streaming services are increasingly warming up to adult animated projects in an effort to appeal to new demographics. Netflix has already found success with the aforementioned “Castlevania” and the critically acclaimed “BoJack Horseman” and “F Is For Family,” while WarnerMedia’s HBO Max’s “Close Enough” was one of the streaming service’s first original releases and “Crossing Swords” premiered on Hulu in June.

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