A still from ‘The Samurai and the Prisoner’
| Photo Credit: Janus Films/YouTube
The trailer of Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s upcoming film, The Samurai and the Prisoner, was unveiled by the makers on Thursday (June 25, 2026). Marking Kurosawa’s first Samurai movie, the mystery-thriller has been adapted from Honobu Yonezawa’s 2021 novel Kokurojo, which won Japan’s coveted Naoki Prize.Set during the 16th century in feudal Japan, the castle of a warlord, Araki Murashige (Masahiro Motoki), sees a host of killings which begins to turn everyone against him. In order to find the mystery behind these gruesome murders, Araki seeks help a cunning man, Kanbei (Masaki Suda) who was once a strategist, whom he has chained in the dungeon of his castle. The trailer is filled with some dramatic exchanges and psychological nuances between the two which Kurosawa is known for as the film promises to be a visually-rich, historical mystery-drama.The film will be distributed in the USA by Janus Films and will be released on July 31. It had its world premiere earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival 2026.The Samurai and the Prisoner also stars Yuriko Yoshitaka, Joe Odagiri, Munetaka Aoki, Ryota Miyadate and Tasuku Emoto in pivotal roles. It is produced by Shochiku and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television. Published - June 26, 2026 01:22 pm IST
