The Hollywood Reporter says
It's being produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, who recently provided the channel with Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which was definitely one of our favorite shows. And, of course, they were also behind Xena: Warrior Princess, which remains one of the iconic action-heroine series of all time, so their pedigree in the area is sound.

I must confess to not knowing too much about Noir. I did have it on DVD at one point, but the subs were so atrociously out-of-sync that it was unwatchable. Still, EW.com says, "I’m envisioning something like Nikita, except jauntier and with considerably more sex, violence, and sexy violence." I think we'd be down for that!

Will definitely check it out, but for me it all depends on the actresses they use. Noir is one of my favorite anime series (if you like it, I recommend Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom as well), but I wouldn't have watched 5 minutes of it if I had to listen to the English dub. La Femme Nikita was a good series (for the first couple of seasons, at least), but I haven't gotten around to watching the remake this year as I'm not a big fan of Maggie Q (after seeing Naked Weapon) and seeing the preview didn't change that.



That would make no sense; they would've picked a different series if that's what they wanted. Noir was a dark, serious, atmospheric, slow, moody series (hence the name), in direct contrast to the campy tone of Xena (which I also liked for the first couple of seasons), so we'll see if Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert are able to completely shift gears. It seems like Noir would be quite difficult to make into live action. If it were being made in Japan, I'd be more optimistic.

Yeah, the anime is on the list of "want to see," but I find it kinda hard to justify watching 26 episodes - I could watch six or seven movies in the same time! I'm sure the "official" sub is better: the one I got was a dodgy Chines knockoff, so it's my own fault, really...

I think the "sex and violence" comment was based more on Spartacus: Blood and Sand than Xena; it certainly showed Raimi and Tapert could do "serious" as well as camp. From what you say, they may have to restrain themselves a bit more though. As you say, it's probably all in the casting, but I will likely be able to cut it more slack, not having seen the anime, so will have fewer preconceptions. It's always hard to watch a remake of something you love.

But, what? "Not a big fan of Maggie Q"? Heretic! Kill the unbeliever! Where's my banhammer? ;-)

Seriously, though: welcome to the forum!

Its certainly not a series for the impatient. Its notorious for an excess of flashbacks that seem to have been inserted when they couldn't generate enough content to meet their deadline. With TV series on DVD, they should have a "no flashbacks" mode because when you're watching a series straight through (or for the 2nd time) they really start to detract.


I wasn't aware of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. I stopped paying attention after Legend of the Seeker (2008), but after watching the trailer that does look different. And Starz can do things they can't on the networks, so that's more promising. IMDb says 2012, so I'll look for it then.

Maggie Q reminds me of Jessica Alba--likable and engaging in interviews, but it doesn't seem to carry into her acting. But thanks for the welcome.

I'M all for more action heroine stuff but noir bored the HELLL OUT OF ME! hopefully they actually make it appealing.

I always found I could only watch Noir in small doses - one or two episodes at a time - before I thought "hmm, want to watch Ghost in the Shell now..."

However the casting would be critical - and if they get it wrong it could be a car wreck!