Here’s your first look at Amazon’s Like a Dragon: Yakuza

2 months ago

The streamer follows Fallout with another video game adaptation.

By Andrew Webster, an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.

Jul 26, 2024, 10:37 PM UTC

Kiryu is getting a live-action makeover very soon. At Comic-Con today, Amazon revealed the first look at its upcoming adaptation of the Yakuza game series, with the show Like a Dragon: Yakuza (not to be confused with the game Yakuza: Like a Dragon). The streaming series will follow original Yakuza hero Kazuma Kiryu.

Amazon says that the show “showcases modern Japan and the dramatic stories of these intense characters, such as the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, that games in the past have not been able to explore.” Kiryu will be played by Ryoma Takeuchi, while Kento Kaku also starts as Akira Nishikiyama. The series is directed by Masaharu Take.

Of course, Yakuza joins a wave of gaming adaptions for TV, which has included The Last of Us on HBO, Peacock’s Twisted Metal, and Amazon’s own live-action take on Fallout. Yakuza publisher Sega, meanwhile, has already seen success expanding Sonic the Hedgehog with movies and a spinoff series.

Like a Dragon: Yakuza starts streaming on Prime Video on October 24th with its first three episodes.

Read Entire Article