Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Perlman, and Kelly Hu have signed on to voice characters in the upcoming animated series, Afro Samurai on Spike. Jackson is also executive producing the project, which is based on a graphic novel by Takashi Okazaki about a black Samurai's quest to find the man who killed his father. Jackson will voice the lead character, while Perlman will voice the villain he seeks. Perlman, by the way, is the guy who played the title character in Hellboy and the Beast in the television series, Beauty and the Beast. Hu plays Okiku, a friend from the samurai's past. She played the female version of Wolverine in X2: X-Men United. The RZA is creating original music for the series.

Spike has ordered five episodes of Afro Samurai. They begin airing January 4th.