Keanu Reeves Does The Cowboy Bebop Starring in anime adaptation
Wow. Exciting news this morning as Keanu Reeves signs on for the long-mooted film version of anime series Cowboy Bebop, a futuristic series about bounty hunters around the solar system.
Reeves would play Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter or 'cowboy' who travels on spaceship Bebop with his partner in (hunting) crime Jet Black and a motley collection of marks and hangers-on, including 'data dog' Ein, amnesiac Faye Valentine and master hacker Edward (a girl).
The premise of the series is that humanity has built "astral gates" to get around the solar system easily. The first one, in the moon's orbit, destroyed half the moon, raining rock on the planet beneath and killing 4.5 billion people. The survivors, 50 years on, live underground as the rocks keep falling, but have perfected the astral gate technology that allows them to colonise the solar system as well. Only problem is that, spread out as civilisation is, crime has flourished, so the authorities rely on bounty hunters to bring in the worst offenders.
The series is a very well regarded one, and Spiegel seems like a decent fit for Reeves, given that he's a nice mix of tortured (he used to be a member of a crime syndicate, and is of course unlucky in love) and cocky. But there's no director attached yet, just Peter Craig writing the script, so it'll be a while before we see whether this turns out to be another Matrix or another Johnny Mnemonic.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!! SO WRONG!!! SO SO SO WRONG!!! HE'LL BE TERRIBLE!!! Spike Spiegel is a classy, vibrant, fun-loving guy. Keanu Reeves could IN NO WAY pull that off. Not that he's a bad actor, he just suits certain roles, and this isnt one of them. Personally I think that Robert Downey Jr. would be absolutely perfect for the role, were he a few inches taller... And 'Cool Hand Luke' era George Kennedy wouldve been perfect for Jet Black ... Read More
Hmmm... I've only ever seen the Bebop movie and one session but I liked it. Spike for me is always (younger) John Cusack. I don't think Keanu has the range but we'll see. I hope they do a good job on this because it could be great. Music is VERY important -- you can't have "Cowboy Bebop" without the bebop. ... Read More
is no-one else terrified by this? what is with the current trend of adapting decent japanese anime shows into crap hollywood movies? next, i see tom hanks as lupin the third!
please don't let this happen, reeves has a proven history of destroying japanese legends, just look what he did to poor old beat takeshi in Johnny Mnemonic. ... Read More
I like Keanu, I enjoyed the Matrix films (the flaws were pretty much not down to him), I liked him in Constantine (been into the comics since the beginning, but am not a fuckwit anal purist and again, the flaws were not down to him). he's not a great actor, never wil be, but neither is cowboy bebop great anime (i have seen it and enjoyed it but it's not a classic). But still, I don't think he seems a good fit. In situations like this I always hope I'm wrong and we get a good film out of it, but ... Read More
I LIKE Keanu Reeves, The Matrix - Brilliant. Bill & Ted - Excellent (naturally). I even liked Constantine, but no HUMAN will ever be good enough to play Spike, Jet, Vicious, ANY of them! That's why it's such a successful A-N-I-M-E - the characters are already fleshed out by excellent writing and character developing story arcs, so much so that I STILL can't decide who my favourite character is, I love them all so much, in completely different ways.
And AS it's such a big success, should t... Read More
ive been a big fan of this particular series for a long time, and keanu just doesnt fit this role, i can see particular attributes that would go well, but, unless he acts better than in any film he has done before he's just not going to fit the bill. this could be awesome, if someone manages to get the comedic tone without being to cheesy or to dull like reeves so often is. ... Read More
ive been a big fan of this particular series for a long time, and keanu just doesnt fit this role, i can see particular attributes that would go well, but, unless he acts better than in any film he has done before he's just not going to fit the bill. this could be awesome, if someone manages to get the comedic tone without being to cheesy or to dull like reeves so often is. ... Read More
I'm not a Keanu hater, truly I'm not. I don't even get why so many people hated him so much in The Day the Earth Stood Still. But he's just not Spike Spiegel. I can imagine him playing Vicious, Spike's former friend and rival turned nemesis and rival, but he's not right for Spike.
Even dropping the superficial aspects like age and build (Spike is a long, thin, lanky 27 (if I remember correctly) year old), he has a pretty unique, and quite contrary sort of charisma - he's not 't... Read More
