AJ Lee, Aimee Garcia To Write 47 Ronin Sequel

WWE alumna April “AJ Lee” Mendez and Aimee Garcia have landed a gig writing a major script, namely the sequel to 47 Ronin. Deadline reports that Mendez and Garcia, who have been writing partners on several comic books including an adaptation of Glow and Dungeons & Dragons, have signed a deal to write the script for the sequel to Keanu Reeves’ much-lambasted 2013 period fantasy action film.

The original film starred Reeves as Kai, a half-Japanese, half-English outcast who becomes a Ronin in a story VERY loosely adapted and heavily fictionalized from the real-life historical tale of the 47 ronin who avenged the death of their daimyō in 18th century Japan. The film was not loved by critics or fans and was a financial bomb, grossing $151.8 million worldwide against a budget that reportedly ballooned to as high as $225 million. Due to marketing costs and other particulars of how box office translates to profit, the film was believed to have lost up to $175 million.

Despite those heavy losses, Universal 1440 Entertainment have not been ready to give up on the property and the sequel goes in a drastically different direction. It reportedly takes place 300 years in the future and director Ron Yuan has called it a “genre-blending, martial arts, action, horror and cyber-punk film.”

Garcia is best known as an actress on shows like Dexter and Lucifer, while Mendez is best known for her time in WWE. The two have been writing together for some time and are set to write for the upcoming DC Comics anthology limited series Wonder Woman: Black & Gold. There is also a film adaptation of Mendez’s memoir Crazy is My Super Power in the works through the duo’s Scrappy Heart Productions banner.