'Real life Game of Thrones': Netflix to launch new show 'Age of Samurai' on feudal Japan

The series is expected to air on Netflix later this year. Photo credit: AAP.

If the final season of Game of Thrones and its divisive conclusion left behind a gaping hole, never fear - Netflix is here to fill the void. Netflix is developing a new medieval drama series, hailed as the "real life Game of Thrones" by Deadline.

The streaming heavyweight has commissioned the new docu-drama series, Age of Samurai: Battle For Japan. The show is tipped to be a historically-accurate portrayal of feudal Japan's "Game of Thrones"-esque conflict, with warring kingdoms and a cast of murderous warlords. 

The series is said to be a co-production with Smithsonian Canada.

The new Netflix project will reportedly focus on Date Masamune, a notorious samurai known as the "One-Eyed Dragon", Deadline reports. His fierce epithet allegedly came after he cut out his own eye as a child after it became infected with smallpox.

Power-hungry Masamune is also said to have murdered his younger brother, and wore a signature helmet believed to have inspired the Darth Vadar's iconic headwear in Star Wars.

The visual style will honour Japanese art and graphic noir novels, with a unique take on cinematography.

Filming is underway in the US, Canada and Japan. The release date for Age of Samurai: Battle For Japan is currently unknown, but multiple media outlets have said the samurai showdown will air later this year.

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