Ok, so I woke up this morning to the following news, and it’s announcement all of us Cowboy Bebop fans have been either eagerly anticipating or dreading: the Cowboy Bebop live action film starring Keanu Reeves as Spike Spiegel is actually happening. Apparently, all of the talk during the last year was true. Here’s what I felt were the most important parts of the announcement:
Keanu Reeves Is Spike Spiegel - Whether you like it or not!
Because you asked for it… Keanu Reeves to play Spike Spiegel in COWBOY BEBOP!
Keanu Reeves will topline 20th Century Fox’s big screen adaptation of the very popular COWBOY BEBOP series. A relative unknown screenwriter, Peter Craig, is attached to pen the adaptation with Sunrise Inc. (original anime producers) working closely with Fox on the adaptation. Reeves will play bounty hunter Spike Spiegel…(Ain’t It Cool News)
The best news is that Sunrise, the producers of the Cowboy Bebop anime series and director Shinichiro Watanabe are both involved. Here are a few more details about their role in the live action film:
Keanu Reeves set for Bebop: Actor to star in live-action adaptation of anime
Sunrise Inc., which produces the anime series, will be closely involved with the development of the English-language project. Sunrise’s Kenji Uchida and Shinichiro Watanabe will serve as associate producers alongside series writer Keiko Nobumoto. Series producer Masahiko Minami will serve as a production consultant…(Variety)
Pretty interesting news for a Friday, eh? What are your hopes for the film? What story would you like it to tell? Is Keanu an appropriate choice for Spike?
Well, Reeves has already mentioned them working on the Red Eye episode plot, as well as Spike’s backstory, so there’s that. I don’t know how good a choice Reeves as Spike is, but I’m willing to give the guy a chance. I have higher hopes for this film than any other recently announced live-action adaptation, especially now that many of the original staff is signed on. I’m curious as to who’s doing the music though and worried about casting choices for Ed.
Kiri – I also vote to give Keanu a chance. Hopefully they’ll start announcing the rest of the cast soon.
I’m not so sure about this. I feel like there are too many subtleties in Spike’s character that Reeves just won’t be able to pull off.
Beyond that, anime doesn’t seem like it lends itself well to live action. There are too many quirks that won’t be able to translate, both metaphorically between animation and live shots and literally between Japanese and English (I’m assuming it’ll be in English, though there’s a chance that Reeves speaks Japanese and I just don’t know it).
Brian – It will certainly be interesting to see how the characters translate. Hopefully the budget is high enough that the visual style of the film will be solid.
This is terrible. Cant wait for Keanu’s line “Whoa… I just totally shot vicious.” I have zero confidence in him playing spike. Good thing Spike isn’t a major character or anything.
Stalemem – Hopefully the cast will be well-rounded and we’ll be treated to a minimum amounts of ‘Whoa’. I have confidence that he’ll do a good job. It’s the story I’m most concerned about…
As is obvious this has the ability to be really good or a huge flop. I agree that Keanu Reeves should be given a chance, however I’m worried that he will seem to detached from the character of Spike like he is with most of he other work he has done. The other concern I have is that, although it is a more serious anime, it still will have a hard time transfering to live action. I can not imagine how they will be able to capture the persona of Ed without taking away from the character that those of us that are fans of the original series know and love. With that said, if they do make this movie I hope that the story is a stand alone story and not a tie-in with the story line of the series, much like the animated movie was. Adding to the story arc that included Spikes past would only cheapen the series. Keep it new, stand alone, but believable. I think that if they people making the movie do this they will not only keep the feel of the series alive but also be able to bring people who are not familiar with the series to the theater to see it.
Actually, I think this is pretty cool news. I think Reeves might even do a good job! Color me interested.
Chris – Me too. I think Cowboy Bebop has a chance at being a good live action film. Let’s just hope it has an excellent script!
Oh, that’s just great. Now we can all just kill ourselves. The depth of depravity, I tell you!
Ajax – So you aren’t looking forward to seeing a live action Cowboy Bebop film?
You’re well right I am not! I for one will not watch the movie. I’m too traumatised after what they did to Speed Racer and are doing to Dragonball.
Ajax
I’m not sure if the original developers of speed racer were involved with the live action or not, but with cowboy bebop having most of the original developers seems like a good bet to me. Perhaps this is the reason why speed racer failed so miserably?
Now only yoko kanno is left for soundtracks, which hopefully shinichiro watanabe will do something about. IMO, yoko kanno is the soul of cowboy bebop, without her the live action lacks one of the very important factors of the original series.
If FOX announced yoko kanno as the music composer, I’m sold.
now it’s as 50/50 chance that i’m going to see the live action.
If people says it’s good, I’ll go see.
If they say it sucks. Good bye.
My hope for the film? I hope they recast the role of Spike.
Caitlin – I think the studio is pretty set with Keanu as Spike. ^_^
I don’t want to make any judgements before the movie is released. Keanu could end up being a really good choice for Spike. Right now, I’m more interested in finding out who will comprise the rest of the cast.
I agree, Keanu “could” do well as Spike. But Spike is either 24 or 26 years old.
I actually enjoyed the movie adaptation of Speed Racer, not so much looking forward to others like the upcoming Dragonball Evolution but all may not be lost with a live-action Cowboy Bebop movie if 1) They get a budget like Speed Racer’s and 2) Casting has to be spot on and I think Reeves is a good choice, he may be in his 40s but I can’t think of anyone else who would look better for the part or could pull off that “I don’t care cuz I’m too cool” attitude that Spike and Keanu both bring. I give it a 60% shot at doing well in theatres…especially since a crapper like The Day the Earth Stood Still did pretty good, people will watch anything if you put a big enough star in it.
its not whether it will do “good”, its whether it will be a movie that captures our imagination and admiration
I was pretty excited with the choice of Reeves as Spike. Something about it just seems right to me. I’m a little more interested in the rest of the cast for sure. Will they have a super-smart Corgi in the live action film? I think it would be impossible to go into the back story of Ein and way too kitschy to just have a dog cast member in a live-action film. I also think that the actress chosen to play Faye has a full plate to contend with as well. It will be hard not to make that role into something stereotypical.
For better or for worse, i honestly can’t wait! I skipped all the recent crappy hollywood takes on anime classics so i have no reason to be jaded. ^.~
Has it occured to any of you that this movie is coming from Fox? The same company that just slaughtered Dragonball and also are still arguing over Watchmen rights? Has it occured that Spike is just more than just his cool exterior, therefore making the job ever harder for Reeves, who can only display a certain amount of emotions? The problem with those of you who think that Reeves can play Spike is that you are satisfied with any large Hollywood actor who may have some similarities between the character they are playing (ex. Daniel Radcliffe as Shinji). My suggestion is stop and think for a minute. Just because Reeves shows no emotion does not mean that he is automatically qualified to play the character. As mentioned above, Spike is much more than his cool exterior, even then, I doubt that Reeves will bring all of the character’s presence to life.
Agree with you 100%. Reeves can certainly play the role of a bored Alien destroying earth..
In Point Break and Matrix trilogy, he is the action hero who is constipated, but he has no time to visit the loo because duty calls.
Some ideas for the main cast :
SPIKE – Takeshi Kaneshiro( The Returner )
JET – Hiroyuki Sanada( Sunshine; Last Samurai)
FAYE – Chiaki Kuriyama (Kill Bill: Vol. 1; Battle Royale )
ED – Jiao Xu( CJ 7)
Vicious – Rain( Speed Racer )
Julia – Ali Larter ( Heros )
Even though its a Japanese series, the characters are obviously white. Why do you want all Asians?
Plus, Ali Larter would just look out of place. Shes as blonde and as white as can be. With the other Asian cast members she would completely be distracting.
Here is my question. Why is everyone so concerned with who is playing Spike and not with who is playing Fay? Other than that I am not to happy with them turing Coyboy Beebop into a live action movie, but it could be done right. I’ll give it a chance just like i do candy corn every Halloween. I just hope that I am not pissed off aftwards like I am with candy corn.
Yes I forgot the “E” on Faye.
LOL, i know EXACTLY what you mean with the candy corn
All i have to say is that Cowboy Bebop is the best Anime series ever made. The style, Yoko Kanno’s choice of music, the characters, even the American voice actors – EVERYTHING was professionally done with true devotion to creating a believable and engaging viewing experience.
Don’t get me wrong… I’ve loved Keanu from the day i saw Point Break as a kid. BUT, he is NOT for this role. Even if he did pull off not doing the whole surfer dude, (the WHOA!, the confused blank stares as he tries to comprehend unbelievable circumstances, or the extremely stiff and concentrated face he makes when the rest of his body is in motion fighting an enemy) and played Spike to the last fragment of body language… he’s still too old.
Just because Spike doesn’t talk very much and stands against walls smoking cigarets, he is VERY animated at times. To pull this duality of a former bad ass killer and wild young man turned wallflower loner, will be a difficult task for any actor. Im just saying, Keanu would have to dig deep into his acting ability and perform the BEST he ever has before to even give Spike a decent chance at making Americans AND Japanese fans BELEIVE in the future world of our solar system.
OH… I’ve thought about making Cowboy Bebop into a live action film ever since i saw it on Adult Swim. To do this masterpiece justice, the director would basically have to adopt all of the camera techniques used in the series, locations (or locations that are not landmarks, which would destroy the feel of the movie), use the same soundtrack and songs at the same places as the series, or at least pay Yoko Kanno to do this all over again with new music of her choice.
Basically what im saying is that their going to water-down and americanize the movie, until it defiles the original masterpiece.
Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you…
Im a white Cali boy. Born and raised in LA. I do surf and like Keanu, but hes just not right for it.
oh yeah. Dragonball is way more popular than Cowboy Bebop in terms of sheer numbers and sheer numbers is what studios and producers look for. We can all agree that Dragonball was a… FAIL! harcore, disgusting FAIL. Thanks FOX, thanks for watering down everything good and artsitic.
therfore, since Fox is making Cowboy Bebop,
its going to FAIL!
HOLD UP THEY ARE ALL ASIAN NOT WHITE FUK BIRD SHIT!
SPIKE IS ASIAN!
FYE IS ASIAN!
VICIOUS IS ASIAN!
THIS IS ANIME AS IN JAPANESE NOT CRACKERLAND TRAILER PARK VILL
I LOVE ANIME BECAUSE THERE ARE NO ANGLOS!
I LOVE ASIAN CINEMA BECAUSE THERE ARE NO CRACKERS IN THAT SHIT!
SPIKE IS ASIAN HIS CARTEL EX-ENFORCER CLAN IS THE DRAGON CLAN AKA JAPANESE YAKUZA YOU FUKN LAMES! ASIAN NOT KIBLER ELF!
cowboy beebop is ASIAN not bird shit colored trailer park actor named neo stuck in da matrix FUK FOXX ENT. Dam Hollywood Im “NOT” seeing CowBoy BeeBop with neo as da star they killed dragon ballZ now they wanna kill real anime FUK CARTOON NETWORK AND HOLLYWOOD FUKN FOXX ENT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
SPIKE WAS MODELED AFTER BRUCE LEE = HES ASIAN “NOT WHITE!!!!!!”
WHY ARE THEY TAKING AWAY ALL THE GOOD ROLLS FROM ASIAN ACTORS AND GIVING THEM TO WHITES EVEN WHEN ALL THE PLAYERS ARE OBVIOUSLY JAPANESE I MEAN THERES BLACKS AND LATINOS AND EVEN HINDI/IDIAN PEOPLES TOO AND YES WHITES ASWELL IN COWBOY BEE BOP BUT SPIKE AND EVERYONE ELSE IS OBVIOUSLY ASIAN!!!! THE CAST OF COWBOY BEEBOP SHOULD BE ALL ASIAN!!!!!!!
HOLD UP THEY ARE ALL ASIAN NOT WHITE FUK BIRD SHIT! WHITE PEOPLE ALWAYS FUK EVERYTHING UP!
SPIKE IS ASIAN! NOT SOME STUCK IN DA MATRIX HOMOFUK THAT CANT ACT EVEN OTHER ACTORS SAY HE CANT ACT WTF IS THIS IM NOT GOING TO SEE THIS NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY THEY PUY IN IT ITS JUST WRONG TO SELL SPIKE OFF AS A WHITE WWHEN THIS IS A FUCKING JAPANESE ANIME CARTOON!!!!!!!
FYE IS ASIAN!
VICIOUS IS ASIAN!
THIS IS ANIME AS IN JAPANESE NOT CRACKERLAND TRAILER PARK VILL
I LOVE ANIME BECAUSE THERE ARE NO ANGLOS!
I LOVE ASIAN CINEMA BECAUSE THERE ARE NO CRACKERS IN THAT SHIT! S
SPIKE IS ASIAN HIS CARTEL EX-ENFORCER CLAN IS THE DRAGON CLAN AKA JAPANESE YAKUZA YOU FUKN LAMES! ASIAN NOT KIBLER ELF!SPIKE TAKES AFTER BRUCE LEE THATS WHO THEY MODELED AFTER!