'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.
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.

Newshub.