As reported by Collider, it seems that Guillermo del Toro may have chosen his next directing vehicle, and he'll be helming ZANBATO for producer J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company. Collider states:
Plot details remain under wraps, but sources say that Zanbato centers around a young girl (between 10-15) with lethal fighting skills — think Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass or the title character in Alita: Battle Angel. Our sources initially described the character as a “ninja,” but del Toro himself took to Twitter to clarify that the protagonist is not a ninja. It’s an idea he’s been working on for years though it has never come to light until now.
Meanwhile, IMDB Pro lists the film as both "Action" and "Sci-fi", with a script by writers Monica Breen and Alison Schapker.
Wikipedia explains:
Zanbatō (斬馬刀), an especially large, single-edged sword dating to the Heian period of historical Japan. The name zanbatō translates to "horse-slaying sword" or "horse-chopping saber". Original examples came from Song Dynasty China and were employed by anti-cavalry infantry in the same manner.
Del Toro is also currently attached to direct a stop-motion take on PINNOCIO for Netflix due in 2021, and is also producing the films ANTLERS and SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, as well as the Netflix TV series GUILLERMO DEL TORO PRESENTS 10 AFTER MIDNIGHT. J.J. Abrams is of course directing Lucasfilms' STAR WARS: EPISODE IX which hits theaters this December.
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