Hiro Murai confirms Bushido, his A24 samurai movie, is still ‘in the works’

Hiro Murai is having a very good year. After breaking into pop culture as the lead director and executive producer of Atlanta, it was unclear where his career would lead after that series ended in 2022. In the years that followed, Murai lined up several directing gigs, including an original samurai movie titled Bushido for A24, and a sci-fi thriller written by David Robert Mitchell (It Follows). But ultimately, Murai’s Atlanta follow-up turned out to be another hit show: Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay.

The horror comedy created by Katie Dippold (Parks and Rec, Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters) premiered in April 2026, and season 1 ends this week, with season 2 already confirmed. Clearly, Murai has his hands full, but if you think that means his other projects aren’t happening, think again.

Polygon had a chance to speak to Murai ahead of the Widow’s Bay season 1 finale, and we snuck in a question about the status of Bushido.

“It’s still in the works, still actively working on it,” the director tells Polygon. “I can tell you that I am currently actively working on it.”

So why is it taking so long?

“The schedules of these things are unpredictable,” Murai says. “Sometimes you get whisked into doing work on one project or the other.”

We still know very little about Bushido, but in 2024 Deadline described it as a “high-stakes action film set against the backdrop of feudal Japan.” That’s a tantalizing synopsis for a movie from one of the most interesting rising directors today. Then again, if we have to wait a little bit longer for Bushido so that Murai can focus on Widow’s Bay season 2, you won’t hear me complain.

Widow’s Bay is streaming on Apple TV.