Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert's Live-Action Series ‘Noir’ Rescheduled at Starz for 2013

By Evelyn F. Altheimer-Fain

 I am sure you remember writer Ryoe Tsukimura poplar 2001 Japanese anime series Noir. Well, back in 2010, Starz network announced that it was picking up Robert Tapert and Sam Raimi (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess, Legend of the Seeker) live-action adaption of the animated series. After that announcement, news of the Noir series had been practically non-existence. Then in back March, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht announced that the production of the live action series had been put “in a bit of holding pattern with Noir. A couple reasons for the delay in the series was the enormous size of the project, and many of Noir crew returned  to work on the production of Spartacus: Vengeance and its series finale Spartacus: War of the Damned. 

While no news can be sometimes good news, in the case of Starz’s Noir, no news can be nerve racketing for the series growing fans. This includes the fans who believed that Noir was back shelved in favor of another Tapert project Vlad Dracula, which is also in production. With hope for Noir debut fading as summer 2012 came and went, its was with pleasant relief that in August writers Cyrus Voris, and Ethan Reiff were signed on to write the series and that the production of Noir was renewed with a projected debut date set in the spring of 2013.

To date, there is still word on casting for Noir, but twitter Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Spartacus) was asked whether she would be cast in the series. She twitted, “I have a twinkle in my eye and I am dancing  . . ., but I plead the 5th”.

Okay, so there is a hint of joy in this message, however, it is not conclusive enough for fans to think that Lucy Lawless will have a spot in Noir. I for one would like to see Lawless in a more dramatic series. However, I cannot see her as one of the lead as either professional assassin Mireille Bouquet nor as Kirika Yumura. No doubt the origins and named of the character will change, but from that anime series both Bouguet and Yumura are young and very fast and athletic. After all, it took six stuntwomen standing in for Lawless to pull off many of her high flying, jumping, and kicking and rough tumbling action scenes. Not that Lawless did any of her own action stunts, she did, but I cannot see her doing such stunts at after 13-years away from her role as Xena. 

If Lucy Lawless was to be cast in Noir, I personality see her as the major adversary and probably Altena the high priestess of the Soldats, an organization  she believes that become corrupted with power and greed. Her only goal is returning the Soldats to its original purpose by reviving a deeply culvert group of assassins known as the Noir.

What is Noir about:  Mireille Bouquet excels in her profession as an assassin. However, when she replies to an email from a young girl named Kirika Yumura, she is invited to take "a pilgrimage to the past.” After the meeting, Mireille life becomes even more dangerous, and she becomes haunted by melody played from within an old pocket watch. The melody invokes an elusive and dark memory from her past. 

Understanding that Mireille and Kirika are being hunted and haunted because of their mysterious past, the two women join forces to find the answers to a thousand-year-old organization, which has controlled the lives thousands of young women since medieval time. As their search leads them around the world, the only clue Kirika remembers about herself is the word Noir, which become their working code and has its origins in an ancient faith that centered on two maidens who reign over death.

The main characters in Noir are Altena, Chloe, Kirika, and Mireille.

Along with Noir, Ryoe Tsukimura has written and collaborated on such popular manga and animations as El Hazard: The Wanderers (TV), Shrine of the Morning Mist (TV), Tenchi Muyo Movie 1: Tenchi in Love, Tenchi Muyo! Mihoshi Special,  UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie (TV), UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie 4: Banquet of Time, Dreams, and Galaxies (OAV), and many more.


UPDATE: Here is my response to a commit about Lucy Lawless quote:

I assure you that I rewrote the quote as it was made ,and it was carried on various websites. However, that was two years ago, and it appears to that the little bit of tongue-n-cheek  portion of it have been removed to contain only the last portion of the original. Believe me, I check my quotes well, this article is not misleading, only dated.

Nevertheless, back in Janurary of 2014 Starz announced that the live-action Noir series would not be moving forward.