Onimusha: Way of the Sword’s protagonist is ‘played’ by an actor who died 28 years ago
Kurosawa collaborator Toshiro Mifune plays Miyamoto Musashi
Capcom has revealed that the protagonist in its upcoming Onimusha reboot will be played by an actor who died 28 years ago.
During the latest PlayStation State of Play presentation on Wednesday, Capcom showed a new trailer for Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the next main entry in the series.
The new trailer showed the game in action, along with a better look at its protagonist, Miyamoto Musashi.
Capcom then confirmed on the official PlayStation Blog that Musashi’s appearance is based on that of Toshiro Mifune.
“The protagonist of this game is a fierce young samurai, constantly moving from one bloody and mucky fight to the next,” Onimusha series development producer Akihito Kadowaki wrote.
“In order to cement this image of a striking samurai, Capcom has turned to none other than the late, iconic Japanese samurai movie star Toshiro Mifune to serve as the face model for this rendition of Miyamoto Musashi.”
Mifune, who is considered one of the greatest actors of all time, passed away in December 1997 at the age of 77 after an acting career spanning around 50 years.
Among his numerous movie and TV roles, Mifune is best known for his frequent collaborations with legendary director Akira Kurosawa, with whom he made 16 films including Rashomon, Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress.
He was also credited for making popular the trope of the nameless, wandering ronin, an archetype that would go on to become popular in the west in numerous Spaghetti Westerns.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is the fifth main game in the series, and the first entirely new main entry since 2006’s PS2 game Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. It’s set for release in 2026.
