Samuel L. Jackson Introduces First Footage from Live-Action 'Kite'

The original Kite anime is notable for a number of reasons, but mostly its extremely graphic depictions of violence and sex towards young women. For that reason I've often compared it to the 'Dragon Tattoo' movies, although it's far more of a revenge film than those turn out to be. The live-action version of Kite was originally meant to be a reunion of Snakes On a Plane director David R. Ellis and star Samuel L. Jackson, but Ellis passed away with Ralph Ziman taking over. But Jackson stayed on board, and is now introducing the first footage.

Clocking in at over nine minutes,  this is a pretty extensive look and, while it's clearly unfinished, it seems to have captured the anime's energy. Or more accurately, lead India Eisley seems to have settled nicely into the role of Sawa, a young girl seeking revenge for the murder of her parents. There were originally two corrupt cops who took Sawa under their wing and turned her into an assassin, but it looks like Jackson is going to be playing a composite of them both. 

There's a little bit of Kill Bill in here, mixed with a dash of Joe Wright's Hanna, but it's too early to tell how it will come together overall. It's a promising start, though. Kite is expected to open later in 2014. [Bloody Disgusting]