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Afro Samurai Picks Up His Sword Again in an Original Movie Event of Spike TV's Critically-Acclaimed Anime Series
"Afro Samurai: Resurrection" To Premiere On Spike TV in January 2009
Samuel L. Jackson Reprises His Starring Role As "Afro"
And Featuring Special Guest Star Lucy Liu
Revolutionary Rap Artist And Producer The RZA To Craft Original Score
Sneak Peek Of Trailer Available On Spike.com Starting Thursday, July 24
At 8:15 PM ET
SAN DIEGO, July 24 -- Spike TV's critically-acclaimed,
funktastic anime series "Afro Samurai" returns with an original movie event
set to premiere on the network in January 2009. "Afro Samurai:
Resurrection" stars Academy Award(R)-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson
opposite, Emmy Award(R)-nominated actress Lucy Liu. Award winning artist
The RZA once again provides the original score. "Afro Samurai:
Resurrection" is produced by Japanese studio GONZO in
association/partnership with GDH K.K. and FUNimation Entertainment.
"Afro Samurai: Resurrection" is based on the original art and story
telling of manga artist Takashi Okazaki, of a black samurai's quest for
revenge and justice for his murdered father. Samuel L. Jackson ("The
Spirit"), who also serves as an executive producer, reprises his role as
the uncompromising hero, Afro and his motor-mouthed sidekick Ninja Ninja.
When his father's body is stolen from its grave, Afro is forced to pick up
his sword and wreak bloody vengeance against an army of deadly foes lead by
a sadistic mastermind.
Lucy Liu will give voice to Sio, a beautiful, seductive and sadistic
mastermind plotting to destroy Afro Samurai. Liu is the star of several
Hollywood blockbuster action-adventure films including "Charlie's Angels"
and "Kill Bill" and has joined the cast of the ABC drama "Dirty Sexy
Money." Liu can currently be heard as Master Viper in the animated film
"Kung Fu Panda."
Additional casting includes Mark Hamill as Bin, Sio's manservant and
protector and Yuri Lowenthal as Kuma, the teddy bear-headed warrior from
the original "Afro Samurai" series. Best known as the young hero Luke
Skywalker in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Mark Hamill has had a
successful career on Broadway, as a voice actor in both animation and video
games and as a comic book creator. Yuri Lowenthal is the voice of Sauske in
the hit children's anime series and cultural phenomenon "Naruto."
Spike.com and Afrosamurai.com will air a sneak peek of the trailer for
"Afro Samurai: Resurrection" starting Thursday, July 24 at 8:15 PM, ET,
immediately following its world premiere debut at Comic-Con in San Diego.
Fans who can't get enough of "Afro Samurai" can get their latest fix
with the 2009 release of the "Afro Samurai" video game from Namco Bandai
Games America Inc.
High-style action comes to the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment
system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system
with "Afro Samurai(R)" from NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. Based on the
hit animated series starring and executive-produced by Samuel L. Jackson,
join Afro in his tale of revenge as he searches for his father's murderer
and the holder of the coveted number one headband. Blending modern hip hop
with traditional Japanese culture, "Afro Samurai" is a cutting edge game
that will deliver a new kind of cinematic experience which offers addictive
and compelling gameplay that is literally dripping in style. For more
information on "Afro Samurai," please visit:
http://www.namcobandaigames.com or http://www.afrosamurai.com.
About FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation(R) Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre
Corporation, is the leading company for home video sales of Japanese
animation in the United States. FUNimation has a proven formula for
launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for
most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet,
and home video sales and distribution. For more information about
FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit http://www.funimation.com.
About GDH K.K.
GDH (Security code: TSE Mothers 3755) is a globally-focused Japanese
media company founded in February 2000. The group produces cutting edge
entertainment for teens and young adults including the famous GONZO
animation brand and for kids and family under the recently launched Gonzo
Films and Gonzino brands. GDH is a world leader in content development that
targets both domestic and international audiences with Japan's
trend-setting animation culture and, usually, GDH controls licensing
management and international distribution for the content it produces. GDH
group companies include GONZO K.K., GONZO Rosso K.K., Future Vision Music
K.K., GONZINO K.K., GDH Capital K.K. and GK Entertainment K.K.
About NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., is a leading interactive entertainment
software publisher and developer based in Santa Clara, CA. The company is a
part of the NAMCO BANDAI group of companies known for creating and
publishing many of the industry's top video game franchises including the
PAC-MAN(R), SOULCALIBUR(R), Naruto(TM) and Tekken(R) brands. For more
information about NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., and our products log
onto http://www.namcobandaigames.com.
About SPIKE
Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV
Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the
world's leading creators of programming and content across all media
platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is http://www.spike.com.
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