nipah!

Keanu Reeves (Matrix, The Day the Earth Stood Still)

The man behind Matrix hacker Neo and the enigmatic Klaatu, Keanu Reeves will next jump onto the big-screens as Spike Spiegel from the widely acclaimed 1998 Sunrise classic Cowboy Bebop.

Set in a world where humanaity escape decimation, the story follows an adventurous bounty hunter, Spike, travelling on a spaceship, the Bebop, with other fellow bounty hunters.

From MTV movies blog:

” Reeves hopes to play Spike Spiegel, one of these futuristic cowboys forced to pick up the slack after a population crash and hyperspace gateways have left law-enforcement unable to capture many of the galaxy’s most ruthless criminals.

“It’s got a Western quality, a Western film noir aspect to it,” Reeves said of why he’s such a big fan of Shinichiro Watanabe and Keiko Nobumoto’s groundbreaking series. “It’s got so much style to it, and that’s part of its appeal. That kind of Old West, bordertown, low-tech science fiction aspect.” “

Erwin Stoff, Reeves’ longtime manager, will be producing through 3 Arts and Joshua Long will be serving as executive producer. Sunrise president Kenji Uchida, the TV series’ director of animation, Shinichiro Watanabe, and series writer Keiko Nobumoto will be associate producers, and series producer Masahiko Minami will be the film’s production consultant.

It seems like the next hot thing for Hollywood is apparently Japanese animation, where within the next few years we’ll also be seeing live-action adaptions of Dragonball, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, etc. Personally I haven’t got on the Cowboy Bebop wagon, so I’ll give it a go when I do have time. (Like in a month or so…)

For those who’ve faithfully digested this classic, what’re your opinions on this? Do you think that the stoic-faced impression from Keanu Reeves will be fitting of Spike? Or will it be a hollywood horror?