Episode 144 - American Samurai (1992)

Episode 144 - American Samurai (1992)

From Failure to Franchise by Trev & Chris

April 21, 2026 · 1h 27m

About this episode

The episode discusses the failures of the film American Samurai and its attempts to replicate the success of the American Ninja series.

"Misfired Cannons" comes to a conclusion as a post Golan & Globus era Cannon limps to its final days amidst new ownership but continued, and growing, financial woes. In a blatant attempt to try to recapture some of their past glory, Cannon looked to start a new franchise that might capture the same fans as those of one of its most popular previous successful series, American Ninja. So, recruiting one of the stars of that franchise, and the director of the first installments, Cannon unleashed American Samurai. But even with the lowered expectations of a straight-to-video release, this film didn't enjoy the same financial or cult success of the American Ninja series. So, what went wrong? We discuss leading man (and another important Cannon figure) David Bradley, the onscreen debut of martial arts star Mark Dacascos, the movie's strange "love story," its similarities to American Ninja , and why its attempt to also copy the recent success of another martial arts movie, Bloodsport , may have been its downfall. Our Twitter Our Facebook Our Instagram Our YouTube Trev's Letterboxd Chris' Letterboxd

People in this episode

Hosts: Trev, Chris

Topics covered

  • Cannon Films
  • American Samurai
  • film analysis
  • franchise attempts
  • martial arts cinema

Keywords

  • American Samurai
  • Cannon Films
  • David Bradley
  • Mark Dacascos
  • martial arts
  • franchise failure
  • film review

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cannon

Books & works: American Samurai, American Ninja, Bloodsport

More episodes of Failure to Franchise

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Failure to Franchise podcast page.