Keanu Reeves signed on to play Spike in the live action Cowboy Bebop.

[Shadowed]

From the wiki...


On July 22, 2008, IF Magazine published an article on its website regarding a rumor of a live-action Cowboy Bebop movie that is in development by 20th Century Fox. Producer Erwin Stoff said that the film's development was in the early stages, and that they had "just signed it".[10][11] Keanu Reeves has been confirmed as playing the role of Spike Spiegel.[12][13] It has also been confirmed through Variety in a January 15, 2009 article, that the production company, Sunrise, Inc., will be "closely involved with the development of the English language project" and that Kenji Uchida, Shinichiro Watanabe, and series writer Keiko Nobumoto has been confirmed to be associate producers and that series producer Masahiko Minami has been confirmed as a production consultant. Variety also confirms that Peter Craig is currently attached as screenwriter.[14] Currently, it is slated for release in 2011.[15]

Fucking kill me now. How in the FUCK can that emotionless hack of a no-talent actor play Spike, one of the most badass anime characters ever? Spike is overflowing with wry personality, the exact fucking opposite of Keanu. God this makes me angry. I can handle a shit anime like DBZ turning into a shit live action movie, but why the hell are they ruining Cowboy Bebop?

[Inkfinger]

Fucking kill me now. How in the FUCK can that emotionless hack of a no-talent actor play Spike, one of the most badass anime characters ever? Spike is overflowing with wry personality, the exact fucking opposite of Keanu. God this makes me angry. I can handle a shit anime like DBZ turning into a shit live action movie, but why the hell are they ruining Cowboy Bebop?

two phrases for you: "the day the earth stood still" and "global warming".

That's how.

Hollywood no longer really cares about the source material.

D:

[Alydia Ettermire]

It could be worse.

They could have signed Hayden Christensen.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Old news.

I already freaked out about it when the announced it months ago. Just be happy that Sunrise is involved.

[Bandage]

Ya know Hayden Christensen isn't ALL bad. He's a good actor. He just...did terribly in Star Wars for some reason...he's not good at being bad.

[Witchblade]

*dies a little inside*

It may be old news... but I think a part of my soul just curled up and a died a horrible death. *cries* How can they do this to Cowboy Bebop? Keanu Reeves can't act worth shit and he's so emotionless and boring... there's no way he's going to be able to play Spike. I'd rather see Hayden Christensen in there, at least he'd try his damnest to give the character emotion, even if it comes off slightly awkward. Keanu will just turn him into an emotionless bastard.

Do we know who are playing the other characters of Jet, Ein, Faye, Julia... Vicious even? Are they all even in the movie?

[Empyrean]

Life is sad.


He was alright in Speed, but honestly...? They had so many other great people they could've picked from.

Whatever, Hollywood's all about making an easy buck nowadays.

[Shadowed]

I don't even think the movie's finished the casting phase; the tentative release isn't until 2011. As for this being old news, I just heard of it today, and got pissed. If ANYTHING, Keanu could do a passable Vicious, or some other Red Dragon 'boss' if they don't want to fit this story into the actual canon time line with Vicious. I can't even begin to imagine who they'd get to play Ed; as long as it's not Dakota Fanning, I think I'd be okay. Really, it'd probably be a no-namer, as there aren't a lot of child actors that could fit that role.

For Fey, I could see Jessica Alba getting the role, though she's not quite hard enough for it. Though again, it depends on where in the chronology the film fits. Anne Hathaway is another possible, as is Megan Fox, or hell, maybe Tina Fey?. Jet Black would be great with Mickey Rourke, I think. And going back to a real actor for Spike, I'd love to see Harrison Ford circa 1980; since that's not possible, I'd be interested to see Matt Damon give it a shot, though admittedly he might not have the range to handle the dry wit of Spike's character.

[Lord Anglekos]

I agree. I usually like Keanu Reeves when he plays roles he's suited for; he was alright in Constantine (although I would've preferred someone a little older looking), and we all know the Matrix wouldn't have been the same without him. But to play Spike, and live-action at that...
I'm sorry, I just can't picture Keanu's face on Spike's without laughing and/or wanting to throw up. This will not end well.
In any case, who would you guys have picked to play him?
EDIT: Oops, ninja'd.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

What you all should be more worried about is that a quick Google search turned up numerous articles stating that the movie would be focusing more on the beginning of the series and the Red Eye drug, according to Keanu himself. Which means chances are slim that we'll be seeing Faye and Ed.

Oh, and Anglekos?

http://media.animevice.com/uploads/0/4/58780-keanu_super.jpg

[Shadowed]

It doesn't look so bad in that picture, until I realize that that's how Spike will look the entire movie.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

As far as I know, that picture is photoshopped. Take a loot at the blur used between the hair and his face near his right eye.

For the actual movie, I see then just gelling the crap out of his hair like they did with Goku from the DBZ movie.

[Shadowed]

It is photoshopped, but it's still a pretty good base image if what it'd look like.

[Daeres]

Ya know Hayden Christensen isn't ALL bad. He's a good actor. He just...did terribly in Star Wars for some reason...he's not good at being bad.

Did you ever see Awake? He was pretty bad in that too. I'm not just basing my opinion of him from Star Wars prequels, because from that basis you'd say that Ewan McGregor is a wooden, uninvolved actor, which is certainly not true. But I genuinely think he's a bad actor. Either that or I have almost impossible standards to meet.

But now you mention it, yeah lots of good actors did come off badly from Star Wars I-III, just about the only people I could bear to watch in it were Chancellor Palpatine and Mace Windu, and the rest were either obviously feeling like they were in a terrible movie, i.e Ewan McGregor, or were simply acting badly. It's wierd how George Lucas managed to uninspire so many good actors...

[Saxon]

Fucking kill me now.

This.

Also.. Keanu as Spike? Way to bomb one of the few anime series I actually enjoyed, Hollytron.

[Witchblade]

Oh god... that picture makes me want to throw up.

He probably won't look like that for the entire movie, just gel up his hair or whatever, but still... I can't believe they casted Keanu to do this and they're not even going to include Fey, I love Fey and Ed is so cute, and annoying, and cute.

[Shadowed]

Just had a thought: imagine Clive Owen as Spike.

[Witchblade]

Hmm.. I think I could picture that rather easily. He has the rough and tumble sort of look that Spike should have.

[Shadowed]

I was specifically thinking of his role as Dwight in Sin City. Make it a bit more lively, and you've got a pretty close approximation to Spike.

[Nightstalker]

*crawls out from under rock*

They made Cowboy Bebop into a movie? They already made a DBZ movie? Where have I been? Or, what have I been smoking and where can I get some more?

In a totally related snippit, I'm not fond of Keanu reeves or hollywood in general, but I have faith that with so much crap coming out of hollywood in a massive tidal wave of shit, SOMETHING's going to freakishly turn out so right it's going to become legend.I'm hoping it's this and it doesn't turn out to be a good anime gone bad.
*crawls back under rock.*

[The International]

I agree with everyone. Reeves doesn't have the emotional range to play Spike, or at least he hasn't demonstrated it so far. Spike is a humorous playboy in my opinion, and this man's niche is brooding basket cases.

I just woke up, so my brain isn't on right now. I can't think of anyone in Hollywood who could play Spike well. (I swear to God if anyone says Depp I'm coming after them. He's not the be all and end all of acting.)

EDIT: HAHA Wait! Maybe Zachery Quinto!

<<< ;)

[Inkfinger]

.....Iiiii can totally see that, actually. That is not a bad mental image. That is not a bad mental image at all.

[Max Dirks]

What's Cowboy Bebop?

[Lord Anglekos]

What's Cowboy Bebop?
*shoots*

[Libis]

What's Cowboy Bebop?

I agree

[Shadowed]

Must be uncomfortable living under that rock all the time.

[Max Dirks]

I wasn't trying to be snide at all, I'm seriously curious as to what it is.

You'll have to excuse me, Shadowed, the rock was comfortable.

[Shadowed]

Cowboy Bebop is an anime created in - I believe - 1998. It offers a view of the lives of several bounty hunters in a post-apocalyptic spacefaring human society, which, due to a series of catastrophes, reverts the solar system to an outlaw-driven, Wild West-type of society. The bounty hunters are known as 'cowboys', and hunt down criminals for pay, as the police forces do not have the manpower to undertake that task themselves at all times.

The anime had good animation, extremely good music, very vivid and likable characters, good plots, good developments, and was overall an exceptional package. It's generally considered one of the finest animes ever created, and is one of my personal favorites.

[Witchblade]

But the end of the movie makes me cry every time!

[Arsène]

Jupiter Jazz (both parts) and Pierrot le Fou were some of the best plots I've ever seen on any medium.

[Lavinian Ambition]

Jupiter Jazz (both parts) and Pierrot le Fou were some of the best plots I've ever seen on any medium.

Pierrot almost made me cry.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Pierrot le Fou, in my humble opinion, is the best fucking episode of that entire series.

[Saxon]

If you're talking about the psychopath one, which I think you are, there were better ones. I forget most of the titles for the episodes but the saxophone player with the ring was my favorite that and the one where they show how jet loses his arm as well as the one where he tracks down that chick's father.

[Arsène]

Pierrot almost made me cry.
Get rid of the almost and you'll have my reaction the first time I saw it. It was one single tear, and an entire night of unsettling dreams thinking about that ending.


...the saxophone player with the ring was my favorite... Sympathy for the Devil was really good too.

[Lavinian Ambition]

Get rid of the almost and you'll have my reaction the first time I saw it. It was one single tear, and an entire night of unsettling dreams thinking about that ending.

That was the most surreal ending to an episode I have ever seen. I was just floored how they did that.

[Bandage]

I rather enjoy the silly episodes too. The subtle humor in the show is very enjoyable. Like the one with the mushrooms.

I even like the absolutely out of nowhere ones. Like the one with that weird blob thing that came out of the refrigerator? That one was fantastic.

[Shadowed]

I was sad the entire episode where we see Faye's past, as well as when it came back to the future and she was crying when Spike went off to 'go get himself killed'. They managed to put so much humanity and emotion into those characters. It's just amazing.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Yeah, that scene right after when Spike leaves the Bebop for the last time usually never fails to bring a tear to my eye.

Maaaan, with all this talk I'm gonna have to watch the entire series (and the movie between Episodes 21 and 22) again sometime.

[Shadowed]

So I was just watching X-men, and it struck me:

Hugh Jackman would make an AWESOME Spike. I mean, I could totally see it, just watching him play Wolverine. He's got the dry humor, the badassery, the whole package.

[The International]

I could see Matt Damon or Mark W. playing Spike.

[Cyrus the virus]

I hate to break it do you guys, but Spike's personality is not that diverse. From an objective perspective he's very interesting and awesome, but just not that complicated. It's not like he's brimming with emotion.

[Shadowed]

It's not that he's brimming with emotion, but it's that he has a very specific personality. It's the dry, witty, cocksure attitude. And Keanu can't portray any of that.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

It's not that he's brimming with emotion, but it's that he has a very specific personality. It's the dry, witty, cocksure attitude. And Keanu can't portray any of that.

This might be a long shot, but I'm gonna' laugh my arse off if this is the movie that proves that he can.

[Cyrus the virus]

Keanu's pretty typecast. This movie is being made thanks to him, at least that's the backstory I heard a few months ago, and he's a huge fan of the anime. And as for as roles go, Spike would not be a difficult one to portray outside of the physicality.

I have no doubt that if he wants to, Keanu can pull off a role like this rather well. Dry, witty and cocksure? Not all that hard to pull off, even for an actor who picks shitty roles.

[Cyrus the virus]

For the sake of argument, how about someone besides me go watch an actual interview with Keanu Reeves when he is not portraying a role. The man has a personality. I find people often make the mistake of, mindfully or not, thinking Keanu is like Neo in real life. He plays people with no personalities in movies, in real life he actually smiles and his voice changes pitch and his facial expressions change.

Anyway, he's an actor. No need to worry so damn much before we even see a trailer. God.

[Painkiller]

Cowboy Bebop is just the Matrix in space, anyways. Keanu's a perfect fit to the role.

http://omisyth.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/keanu_reeves_confirmed_to_play_spike_spiegel_in_co wboy_bebop_film.jpg

See? Perfect.

[Lightfoot]

I just finished the series a few minutes ago. I had seen it once before when it aired on Adult Swim, but I didn't see every episode. So one day while browsing Amazon I decided, 'Hey, I'm gonna buy Cowboy Bebop on DVD." Best. Purchase. Ever. There had been some key episodes that I had missed, i.e. Hard Luck Woman, My Funny Valentine, along with some that were just fun to watch (Wild Horses, Cowboy Funk).

Anyways, all fanboy gushing aside, I'm looking forward to this movie whether it bombs or not. Keanu may not be the best actor around, but I like him. His emotionless-ness is kind of endearing. I do hope though, that this ends up being the movie where he really blows people away. Hell, maybe his love for the anime will stir up greatness?

[Poison]

i have to agree with most everyone else. I don't think Keanu would make a good Spike. And while I'm almost scared to watch it when it comes out, I probably will, just to see if Keanu managed to pull it off anyway despite the negative expectations of his ability to do so.

in the mean time.. i think i'll go watch Cowboy Bebop... right now...

[Shadowed]

I've been going through the series again (Found the complete series on DVD for $50, had to get it) and just watched Jupiter Jazz. Awesome episode(s, since there's a part two).

[Magic Bullet]

It's not that he's brimming with emotion, but it's that he has a very specific personality. It's the dry, witty, cocksure attitude. And Keanu can't portray any of that.

Of course he can. Keanu isn't a bad actor, he's just a highly reserved actor, who is very often cast into roles where his style simply does not fit.

He can do dry. We all know he can do dry.

I'm not saying he was a good choice, but... I dunno. I can't really think of any big name actor that I'd like to see as Spike any more or less than Keanu.

Where Keanu works, though, he works OK. I don't mind him in a movie like The Matrix.

I dunno, though. After the Dragonball movie, I just can't really see this being any good at all. c'est la vie, who cares, the show is still great so just watch that instead

[Shadowed]

The problem with dragonball is that it's shooting energy from your hand, defying gravity martial arts, aliens, etc. Cowboy Bebop is essentially Firefly, when you get down to it.

As for alternative actors, I'm really thinking that Hugh Jackman could do it justice.

[Godhand]

In this thread:

NERD RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

[Arsène]

In this thread:

NERD RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

That was already obvious enough, but thank you.

[Shadar]

Personally, I don't want to see Ed in this movie. Like everyone else, I'm worried about the Hollywood take on Spike not being what I remember from the anime. But, if we also get the Hollywood take on Ed... That'll be bad...

Yeah, I know they say it's a prequel. But, with their respect for timelines, I can still have dark nightmares about who they'll pick for the role if it exists.

Let's see... gender-nonspecific child-like person...

Mini-Me?

[Shadowed]

Couldn't be mini-me, since Ed is anorexic-looking. And I don't think that any real life actor - especially a child actor - could quite portray Ed's weirdness.

[Chosen of the Gods]

Hate to say it, but the show bored the hell out of me.

Chances aren't looking to good for the movie either.