Jack Black Says He Wants In on a Live-Action ‘Yakuza’ Adaptation

Jack Black has appeared in multiple blockbusters based on popular video games, from The Super Mario Bros. Movie to Minecraft. When Screen Rant asked him what other adaptations he would like to be a part of in the future, he brought up his love of Yakuza.

“I’m going to throw my hat in that ring,” Black said. “I don’t know if there [are] any parts for me, like a portly American, but talk to me. Sega, give me a jingle.”

The Yakuza series was first launched in 2005, created by Toshihiro Nagoshi. Most of the games in the franchise are crime dramas that include combat, mini-games, and a healthy dose of comedy.

Movie and television adaptations of Yakuza have been attempted in the past, but most were met with mixed reviews, like the live-action Amazon Prime series, which premiered in October 2024. The six episodes of Like a Dragon: Yakuza received criticism from many fans of the games.

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As a review on Reddit said, “The Yakuza main storyline isn’t really the draw of Yakuza, it’s the charm and ludicrousness of the world and characters, and that’s super hard to translate. Going at it like a run of the mill straight faced gangster tale removes what makes it special.”

Another fan of the franchise said, “It’s baffling that you’ve still got creators insisting on the completely ignore the video games and do our own thing strategy. It always fails and the ones that are true fans of the games and want to stay faithful tend to turn out really great. I’m at least thankful we are at a point where most video game shows/movies now are the ones that do care about the games themselves.”

Black is reprising his role as Bowser in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, releasing on April 1.