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Keanu Reeves Confirmed As Spike Spiegel In Cowboy Bebop

Carl Lee — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:01:46 +0000

So the inevitable has happened, as we mentioned previously, Keanu Reeves will assume the role of Spike Spiegel in a live-action Cowboy Bebop. Although this is a Sci-Fi mission for Fox, there are some signs of intelligent life.

From the Japanese anime, Reeves will star as Spike, hurling through space aboard the “Bebop.” The time is 2071 and the story follows a group of bounty hunters through their numerous adventures. No official details on which episode they’ll adapt from, but Reeves has said the plot would focus on a fictional drug “Red Eye.” A writer by the name of Peter Craig has the difficult task of writing the screenplay, but he will have some good help.

Sunrise Inc., producers of the anime series, will be involved during development. Sunrise’s Kenji Uchida and series director Shinichiro Watanabe will assume the role of associate producers along with Keiko Nobumoto, the series composition writer. Anime producer, Masahiko Minami, will fill the role of production consultant. If this does go bad, Reeves can’t take all the credit.

Erwin Stoff (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Street Kings, A Scanner Darkly, Constantine)–AKA, Keanu’s personal financier–will produce through his 3 Arts Entertainment. The unknown, Joshua Long, has been named exec. producer.

Casting for Jet Black, Ein, Faye, Edward, Vicious, or Julia has yet to be released, in what capacity these characters will be involved is still in question. Topping Reeves’ acting chops for these roles, though not terribly difficult, could give this the added boost it needs.

Even though Fox is notorious for making source material “better” for mainstream audiences, as exemplified by the upcoming Dragonball Evolution, Sunrise’s involvement could make this a worthy adaption.

How do you think this will go?

Keanu Reeves Talks Cowboy Bebop

Carl Lee — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:42:37 +0000

Keanu Reeves recently spoke to MTV, updating us on the progress of his latest live-action passion project Cowboy Bebop.

The project appears to be perfect for Reeves, who loves his anime but also holds a special place for the Sci-Fi genre. Having done films like A Scanner Darkly, Constantine, The Matrix, and the recent The Day The Earth Stood Still, it seems fitting for him to embody the role of Spike Spiegel.

The Japanese television series follows a group of bounty hunters in the year 2071, traveling on the their spaceship “the Bebop.” Spike and Jet Black pilot their way through the universe collecting bounties and adding new members to the Bebop crew. The anime has earned creditable success across the globe, so the hopes (and stakes) are high.

Reeves revealed a bit about the projects status and as well as some thoughts on the upcoming adaption. He explained “we’ve got the rights, we’ve got a writer” and “he’s putting together a scene outline.” He also said the plot would focus on a fictional drug, Red Eye, which provides its users with superhuman reflexes and awareness.

Though focusing on the beginning of the series is good footing, Reeves also said “and then we’ll deal with the end of the series. We’re trying to figure out [the time frame]. We’re looking at the story right now.” This is where the premise pieces should concern fans.

The 26-episode show, and anime feature film, doesn’t maintain a linear style of storytelling; beginning with a premise, each show is rather episodic. Reeves said “because it’s such a short form, to make a 2 hour version [will be tough]” and coupled with the described plot, the film would be unfaithful and counter-intuitive the the actual show.

He continued with “and it’s got so much of an origin-story obligation; you’ve got to get people up to speed, but you don’t want to do much of that. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, but we think we can do something good.” I hope so, but we might need to be light on the definition of “good.”

Because of Cowboy Bebop’s style of storytelling, the film should be an introduction to the world as it exists. There are few good origin stories, films that introduce the characters properly. Its success has been dependent on settling up the world, as it exists to the main characters, and shedding light on their motivation. Reeves has part of it right, but a film adaption of Cowboy Bebop should only remain in the beginning of the series and end with the assumed continuation of its premise. If done well, the eventual end of the series could be part of a sequel or third film. I suggest this because this particular series requires more time to develop on screen, as exemplified by its television counterpart, presented to a wide audience as a first impression doesn’t allow the viewer to enjoy the premises enough to accept the conclusion.

Though Reeves knows the challenges in making a movie for Cowboy Bebop, he did say “Yeah, but that’s why you want to do it.” At least there are some positive signs in this project’s development.

Are you looking forward to a Cowboy Bebop movie? Do you think Reeves can pull it off?

Keanu Reeves To Star In Cowboy Bebop

Kofi Outlaw — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:17:24 +0000

First Showing is reporting that Keanu “Whoah” Reeves is adding another straight-faced hero to his resume, playing intergalactic bounty hunter Spike Spiegel in the live-action adaption of anime cult-favorite, Cowboy Bebop.

According to First Showing’s “inside source” at Fox studios, Cowboy Bebop has long been buried in the list of movies waiting to be green lit, with Reeves attached to the project for some time now. That bit of star-power, plus some early fan buzz, has motivated Fox to fast-track Cowboy Bebop for a 2010 release; though currently there is no director, writer, or script for the film.

For those who aren’t into anime, Cowboy Bebop follows the exploits of a team of bounty hunters, (”Cowboys” as their known,) who coast the cosmos aboard their spaceship, Bebop, tracking down the universe’s worst criminals and collecting the bounty on their heads. The plot thickens when the team’s strong but silent leader, Spike (Reeves) begins to run across his old buddies from a nefarious crime syndicate he used to belong to. The only thing standing in the gangsters’ way? Spike, and the crew of the Bebop.

If Reeves is attached, you can expect the scale of this flick to be big-budget epic. Warring spaceships and kung-fu throwdowns complete with gun fire. Nice. Between Cowboy Bebop, the upcoming Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li and the live-action Dragonball movie, it seems Hollywood is trying to cash in on the anime universe.

Are you psyched for a Cowboy Bebop movie? Or is anime not your thing? Let us know what you think.

Source: First Showing