The Raid‘s Iko Uwais will star in a new martial arts series for Netflix, which is going by the title Wu Assassins. As well as appearing in the two Raid movies, Uwais has also had roles in Beyond Skyline and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This will be his first TV role, and it looks set to be a great platform for his skills.
Uwais will play Kai Jin, who has been described by The Hollywood Reporter as “an aspiring chef who becomes the latest assassin in a long-running battle between good and evil.” The series is set in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and there is said to be an ancient triad involved in the plot.
Ten episodes have been ordered by Netflix, with Uwais lined up to produced and coordinate stunts, as well as playing the lead role. Also among the cast is Byron Mann, who previously appeared in Skyscraper, The Big Short and Netflix’s Altered Carbon. Mann will play a character named Uncle Six, who we assume is part of that triad.
John Wirth (Hell On Wheels, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has written the scripts, and Stephen Fung (Into The Badlands, House Of Fury) is set to direct the first two episodes. Nomadic Pictures Entertainment is producing the series for Netflix.
We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.