Disney+ is bringing together some of Japan’s most celebrated genre filmmakers for Night Tales Club, a six-part supernatural mystery anthology series starring Takayuki Yamada and set to premiere in January 2027.
The streamer unveiled the project Wednesday, along with first-look images and a teaser trailer. The series adapts six stories from a collection by acclaimed Japanese horror writer Ichi Sawamura, with each episode directed by a different filmmaker. The lineup includes genre master Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Wife of a Spy), Takashi Shimizu (Ju-on), Shinzo Katayama (Gannibal), Yukiko Sode (All the Lovers in the Night), Yuichiro Sakashita and Yosuke Nakamura.
Yamada, best known internationally for starring in Netflix’s The Naked Director, plays Hojo, a wealthy entrepreneur obsessed with unexplained phenomena. Convinced that ghost stories, monsters, curses and other supernatural anomalies are “bugs” pointing toward a deeper conspiracy, Hojo establishes the titular “Night Tales Club,” inviting people who have encountered the inexplicable to share their experiences and evidence in exchange for 20 million yen (roughly $130,000) in gold.
Each of the six episodes follows a different account of the supernatural, as Hojo attempts to uncover the truth behind the strange occurrences. Kenji Nakajima, whose visual direction credits include The Naked Director and Tokyo Swindlers, directs the framing sequences featuring Yamada.
Night Tales Club is produced by Yusuke Wakabayashi and Teruhisa Yamamoto. Sawamura wrote the scripts for each episode based on his original collection of stories.
“As the original author of these stories, I feel an enormous sense of surprise and joy that they will soon be available on screen to scare audiences around the world!” Sawamura said.
Night Tales Club comes as Disney+ prepares for a significant expansion of its international original programming, with Japan expected to play an important role in the company’s growing Asian production ambitions. Disney has said it plans to roughly triple its annual output of international original series over the next three years, up from approximately 60 to 70 shows this year.
The company has been deepening its ties with Japanese creative partners. In April, Disney struck a multi-year development agreement with TBS-owned production company The Seven to create more Japanese live-action originals for global streaming audiences.
Among Disney+’s earlier Japanese live-action originals is the acclaimed folk-horror thriller Gannibal, starring Yuya Yagira as a police officer who uncovers a sinister secret in a remote rural village. The series returned for a second season in 2025. Other Japanese productions include the supernatural mystery Land of Tanabata, while forthcoming titles include the cross-cultural Korean-Japanese romantic comedy Merry Berry Love and the variety show The One Shot.
Original Article on Hollywood Reporter