The famous sci-fi Japanese animated series Cowboy Bebop is going to be adapted into a movie by Fox: scriptwriter Peter Craig is already assigned to write the screenplay and Keanu Reeves has been confirmed in the lead role as Spike Spiegel the bounty hunter.
I was a fan of the animated series, it was a combination of everything one may needs: science fiction, action and pretty girls, and last but not least an incredible soundtrack that was totally jazz oriented! So I am glad to hear about a live action movie but I’m not sure that 20th Century Fox is the best choice for tackling the movie adaptation of this manga: hell, they just destroyed a gold opportunity with their ugly take on the Dragonball movie… But let’s try to be optimistic for Cowboy Beebop. Besides there is a real reason for keeping hope: Director Shinichiro Watanabe and writter Keiko Nobumoto from the original Cowboy Bebop series by Sunrise will be closely involved with the development of Fox’s live-action adaptation.
Below the opening of the original Cowboy Bebop series:
Plot:
“Mankind is now able to travel through the Solar system thanks to astral gates. But this technology came with a price: in the year 2021 AD, the first time it was tested a cataclysmic accident happened that caused 4 billions people to be wiped out and force the survivors to scatter though the system because Earth was under a heavy rain of meteors remnants of a blasted Moon
Fifty years later the Solar system is well under colonization with new nations rising from the ashes. But criminals have now a edge over local police services because astral gates make it easy to escape out of reach at the other end of the Solar system. So bounty hunter is a hot job again in 2071!
The crew of the spaceship Bebop are a partnership of “cowboys” (originally Spike & Jet) who travel the solar system trying to apprehend bounties.”
Keanu reeves is a good actor for sure. But such a project would rely a lot on CGI: I worry that Fox isn’t ready to foot the bill of a real marvelous adaptation: besides the current recession, other movie projects like Wolverine 2 may limit Fox’s financial support for the film…
I realy hope they will keep the original soundtrack: it would be blasphemous to do otherwise! No release date yet for this Cowboy Bebop movie, after all it is at such an early stage. But I’d think it may come to theaters in 2011 if lucky.
:)
hopefully, they will have the movie out sooner…like in 2010, because they are so into making it. I’m looking forward to this movie very well. anime is like the future of america, and its becoming more popular, just like american comics were.
everybody please start boycotting against the shittiest actor in the world Keanu Reeves being in a live action film by fox for cowboy bebop… he totally s**ks and ruins all movies!
why don’t they pick james franco for spike, jett could be bruce willis… tricia helfer could be julia, cillian murphy or shane brolley could be vicious, sophia myles who played erica in underworld could be faye, dakota blue richards from the golden compass might make a really good ed character
I would make a better Spike then Keanu Reeves!
Rofl, seriously: many of my friends think so too…
close enough but Spike is not a f***in Chinese
I must agree with your friends: you definitely look like Spike from Cowboy Bebop! :)
Cowboy bebop was an awesome series. Why in God’s name do they have to f**k it up and even worse have Keanu in it. They chose actors horribly and now all cowboy bebop fans will have to listen to a bunch of posers who think it’s gay because of the movie.
Keanu Reeves is the worst fucking actor alive today. He’s a black hole. Not only does he suck, but when good actors are in scenes with him they start to suck, too. He’s a contagious virus of shit. Not to mention he’s eighteen fucking years too old to play Spike. This film is going to be terrible unless fans get the word out that we won’t spend a cent to go see this shit heap. Here’s how it should be:
SPIKE: James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, of Josh Hartnett
JET: Idris Elba, Blair Underwood, of Liev Schreiber (I haven’t decided if I think he’s black or white)
FAYE: Rose Byrne or Chyler Leigh
ED: Mackenzie Vega
EIN: A real fucking dog and not a shitty Lucasesque CG one.
VICIOUS: Ben Foster or Ryan Gosling
JULIA: January Jones
That’s the right cast if they want to cast at the correct ages. If they want to make them older I have a good cast for that too.
SPIKE: Robert Downey Jr.
JET: Lawrence Fishburne, Delroy Lindo, Michael Keaton, or David Morse
FAYE: Rachel Weisz
ED: Alison Lohman
EIN: Still a real fucking dog.
VICIOUS: Viggo Mortensen, or Guy Pearce
JULIA: Famke Jansen
How is it that Hollywood casting directors, who get paid to do this shit always fuck it up, and I, a regular film fan who wants to someday be an actor, always nail it? If Keanu Reeves is in this film then it is doomed. You can expect Megan Fox, Common, Gerarg Butler, and a CG dog akin to those dumbass gophers in Indy IV voiced by Mike Myers and a soundtrack featuring Nickelback and Fergie to accompany him. Fuck this movie.
Hm. Interesting choice of actors. I think Gordon-Levit would be a great actor to cast in the role, only because I thought he was astounding in the films “Brick” and “The Lookout.” I think Robert Downey Jr. is too… American for Spike. And about Ein, you are totally correct!
Fuckin, I hope that this attempt at making a live action film is actually something to push the franchise to a wider audience in a positive way, rather than to adulterate the philosophy, cinematography, and amazing storyline (revealed in fragments throughout the series) of the show itself into Hollywood cliches.
It’s ironic, because Cowboy Bebop is an anime that draws heavy influences and direct allusions from Western concepts and traditions – e.g. each episode has some sort of reference to a song, saying, &c.
Hm. Still, I’m rather intrigued because I think there is a very slim – yet still bleakly conceivable – vision that Reeves could pull off Spike. He can pull off the non-chalant, breezy countenance of
Spike only because he can act like he’s stoned and play it real “cool”….
Feedback?
That’s the thing, though, he can’t play it cool. He doesn’t play it any way. When Keanu Reeves is onscreen doing nothing, it’s not a conscious choice, it’s because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s like David Caruso delivering every line the same way with the same stupid look on his face. Spike has many levels, and Keanu Reeves can’t hit a one of them. And as far as Downey being too American, Spike is a white guy. I know it’s a Japanese show, but they are very clear about when a character is Asian and when they are not, hence Moa Yen Rai. He’s a clearly Asian-drawn man with an Asian name. If Spike were Japanese and not Caucasian he wouldn’t be named Spike Spiegel, he’d be named Kazuo Makoto or some other kickass Japanese name. No, he’s not American because he was born on Mars, but he’s a white dude. And regardless, he’s not a semi-retarded Lebanese puppet like Reeves.
omg . . If he is in it then its doomed like australia . . Reeves cant acted cant do anything but look like a emo on edge . . The day the bore stood still was just like his other films , same shit different movie . . For god sake pick someone with a brain . . Caps out
Yeah, well it is highly debatable as to the actual race of the actor needed, and I see your point on Reeves’ acting as being more than likely valid.
Given this, who could play Spike Spiegal? Just name a bunch of male actors; personally I would choose actors who have similar body structures as Spike (i.e. tall, skinny, lanky, fro and smokes marb reds* – similar to Bob Dylan during the middle of his career)
Shinichi Watanabe et al. are working on the film as well, though I have a feeling that the only spot he will have in the credits may be, “Based on the Anime Cowboy Bebop created by Shinichi Watanabe) or something like that.
The thing about Watanabe is that – from what I can logically induce – he tends to be fairly self-centered. He even admits to it in his anime “Quack Experimental Anime Excel Saga” via a quote from a charater that he voices named Nabeshin. (AMAZING!)
Also, in Macross Plus: The Movie, Watanabe keeps a specific style of aerial cinematography (VERY SIMILAR TO COWBOY BEBOP).
Because of this, I am confident to assert that Watanabe will still remain strong in his convictions and make sure that his creation (cowboy bebop) is not changed into a disgrace by making it live action.
*This can be noted from Cowboy Bebop The Movie, when Spike pulls out a bent cigarette from a pack of a soft pack of Marboro Reds© and one can make out “Mar” from “Marlboro.” In addition, one can take note of the soft pack of Lucky Strike Unfilters that Jet has resting on a table in The Bebop.
Actually, believe it or not, those are two different directors (Excell Saga and Cowboy Bebop). Same names, different guys.
It makes me think of the liberties Fox could take with the Cowboy Bebop franchise. Are they going to have it be about when Spike was in the syndicate with Vicious? Then there would be no need for Faye and Ein or Ed. I don’t know, man. Because of my passion for this anime, I cannot be more impatient for this movie… if it sucks I’m going to cry.
i think reeves can actually pull this off as long as the rest of the cast is fairly strong. keanu can’t act except when we plays a more playful sarcastic character, so spike might work. Although i think aston kutcher can play the same role.
as for vicious i think someone like leo dicaprio would work considering his recent trend of drama films experience he have.
for jet, bruce willis all the way he has the rugged look and all.
faye–megan fox simple enough
julia–charlize theron
ed—hmm not really sure what to fit this one. maybe emma watson
Why all the pessimism? Reeves is an action hero pro. He’s good at anything like that, violence included. He looks the part also; he’s not just any Hollywood fuzzy-little boy actor; the kind who pretend to be men when they all look like they haven’t graduated from high School yet. He’s the best looking man Hollywood ever had, and he has that slightly exotic look that this part needs.
Think of the Matrix, Speed, Street Kings, and he did a great job of playing an egotistical lawyer in “The Devil’s Advocate”. He was totally convincing. Don’t listen to the critics – they are just voicing their own opinions and nothing else. One gives a movie four stars and the other gives the same movie a turkey. They want you to think badly of Keanu; it’s one of their great fun things.
Think positively and the Bebop movie will look positive- wait and see it will happen.
i believe Reeves can pull it off. because his personality is sarcastic yet wise he can do it for sure. i hate fanboy! give the movie a chance and hopefully things will work out
The only reason they cast him is because of a vague similarity and previous “fighting” experience ala The Matrix. Spike is not this old, he should be in his mid-late twenties. Sigh, they are just too lazy to search for new talent.
ahahaaha I want to play Spike!
Seriously, I can get the Asian Fro, and I can do martial arts. I should write a letter to whoever is producing it, and be like, “aight. I’ll smoke cigs and fire guns and do choreographed martial arts scenes. ya.”
I heard that the plot is going to involve the Red Eye drug, and so it will more than likely take place before the series. However, if it takes place before the series, how is Faye Valentine and Ed going to be in the movie? Are they going to completely disregard the series? Probably, right?
Regardless, I’m going to watch the film. I have a feeling it’s going to be entertaining, and because Shinichi Watanabe (aka NABESHIN!) is going to be helping with it, it won’t be a total disgrace…
Oh wait. But people here say that Spike shouldn’t be Asian. Oh well.
I think it would be fantastic if they got relatively unknowns as all the cast because then we can’t relate the actors to others films etc.
But it would be fantastic for a live action cowboy bebop because some people have not been enlightened as to how wonderful it is.
Keanu? Ugh! He is a terrible actor.
Spike has to be Johnny Depp all the way. I think Johnny could pull of both Spike’s disaffected act and his more playful side.
But we’ll see how many good actors are willing to sign onto live action anime adaptions after DB flops.
I love Cowboy Bebop. The costume I made for my boyfriend to cosplay Spike looks better and the fact that Keanu is gonna be Spike blows in general.
This is the best they could come up with? I could have done a better job. Is there still a chance they need a costume designer. I can lend him the Spike costume I made to use HAHA
Oh well, as lame as Keanu is probably gonna be as Spike, still won’t stop me from going to see this movie.
BARF!
My name is Spike, Spike Spiegel As*hole..
I wonder what the story will be… i hope it’s not the Vincent Volaju one… and definitely not spike reviving to rule the red dragon clan… i hope it’s a good movie…
Just please don’t they ever mess up with Faye Valentine, please choose a girl that looks like her, and have the same aura as her, also same attitude, natural type… also the SWORDFISH, REDTAIL and HAMMERHEAD.. wish they are smooth…
I agree wholeheartedly with James Franco as Spike and Ryan Gosling as Vicious, those would be point-on casting. But you know, when I think about it, I wouldn’t mind Megan Fox being Faye. :)
Dude. Keanu Reeves was badass in Constantine. That sort of acting will do him justice as Spike Spiegel.
To everyone saying Keanu Reeves would be a good Spike, All I have to say is, Spike is in his 20’s, not his 40’s!
That said, I think JGL and james Franco are both decent choices.
As for Megan Fox playing Faye? HELL NO!
Sure, she is hot, but that is all she would bring to the role. She can’t act and therefore would completely miss the complexities of Faye’s character.. her vulnerability, her loneliness.. She would only play a hot ass-kicking-chick and deliver predictable, shallow, one-liners..(Transformers, anyone?) And as any real fan of the series would know, it is so much more complex than some Michael Bay blow-shit-up-kick-some-ass Hollywood Disaster!
Camilla Belle is my pick:
As for Jet, I pick Mickey Rourke as my candidate.
Julia could be played by Blake Lively if she could act (im not sure) and maybe a few yrs older. (But make up can do a lot) I think she looks a lot like her and even sounds just like the English voice actress.
I am not sure for Vicious..
But, on the off chance they put Grin into the movie (unlikely) I would like to see Adrian Brody play him.
Keanu reeves is immortal. and most actors play younger people because younger actors are no good at acting.
Wow. You guys are all a bunch of judgemental morons. Seriously? Keep the criticism to yourself until after you’ve seen the movie. Really now. Calling Keanu Reeves a horrible actor when he’s actually been in a lot of movies that people LIKE! Hmm… The Matrix? YES! A lot of people DO like that movie, your opinion does not make a single difference about that fact. I’m not saying he’s the best choice to play as Spike Spiegel, but I’m definitely not going to make any criticism until I’ve actually seen the movie. And I doubt they are going to f**k this movie up that bad. Not like the DB movie. That was a pure disaster and I hate the fact that movie was made. So please, have patience and enjoy life.
if there was an actor who played a cool action hero it had to be Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series or even the Last Boy Scout, Keanu Reeves is the opposite of that cool bad-ass… then again maybe he will surprise us with good acting!
Maybe I’m the only one that thinks that there’s a chance, but I don’t think Keanu is a terrible choice. For starters, Keanu is the ultimate conundrum, despite his often lackluster performances, his movies are always entertaining (The Matrix, Constantine, The Replacements). In that sense, this may be a great opportunity to breathe some life into part of the story that hasn’t been told yet.
I personally would like to see a prequel of sorts that deals with Spike and Vicious’ time in the war and syndicate, their relationship with Julia, and all of the fringe characters that only cameo’d in the last few episodes of the series.
For all we know, maybe Spike used to be very one dimensional and flat, or maybe this will be Keanu’s chance to blow us all away. Either way, WE have no control over what happens. And there’s no sense in being miserable about nothing.
cowboy bebop should be left out of live action, bring back the series, don’t ruin it with this movie.
as far as reeves goes, that’s just dumb. you need somebody that look like he knows what’s goin on. Keanu always looks lost, you can’t deny that. Spike was too much a confident smartass to be played by reeves.
totally and completely against the making of this movie, ESPECIALLY because it is being made by Fox and double especially because…seriously….Keanu Reeves? i am appalled. PLEASE leave my animes alone. they are exactly that they should be and should be left as: CARTOONS from JAPAN!
Wow,all the negativity I’m seeing. I dont think they are going to screw it up because for one Sunrise Studios are directly involved with the project. Based on the interviews, The Screenwriter’s Current Draft is extremely faithful to the show and he and Keanu Reeves are huge fans of the series. The Screenwriter even talks about his favorite episodes. They are looking for a crew that can bring the anime’s world to life. If the best thing happens they might pull it off with Keanu’s martial arts ability, Shinichiro Watanbe involvement and The writer’s extremely faithful script. Worst case scenario they might have a bad rewrite or Keanu may have a stiff performance,but he might pull it of?
Why so pessimistic,lol?
Take something that is truly incredible and turn it into a flaming piece of s**t that tarnishes the prestige and respect of the base series it spawned from.
No this is not a riddle, its a factual statement of what Hollywood does to animated series’s. I don’t want to see a live action movie, even if it manages to beat the astronomical odds of pulling it off at the same level the series did. Odds are that the live action movie will ruin the way the anime is viewed.
The fact that watanabe and nobumoto are going to be involved doesnt assuage my fears that Fox will utterly steamroll over their voices and turn Cowboy Bebop into nothing but a cash cow that will line their own pockets.
I am utterly astonished that there was any activity about bebop after the Knocking on Heaven’s door film was released, now that knowledge has become nothing if not disturbing. I was absolutely satisfied by the ending of the series, and the interesting add-on of the movie taking place between episode 22 and 23. Tell me how exactly a live action would not screw it up.
Last little rant I make is going a bit off subject but still somewhat relevant. In the last 10 years hollywood has seemingly run out of ideas of their own and decided to leech off other sectors of entertainment. I have seen multiple facets of what i grew up with, what i respected, and watched them turned into the equivalent of flaming sacks of you know what. Doom, DBZ, the upcoming Blood+, Street Fighter…the list goes on for quite some length. Point is, Hollywood has no right to defile the stuff I grew up with. If they are doing this only to crush the hopes and aspirations of those who respect the series, well done. If this is just another way for them to make money in depraved ways, why don’t they skip the foreplay of botching animated series’s turned live action and just go into the business of buying and selling the organs of orphans.
I understand where you are coming from but if it is as good or at least close enough,it could bring more interest to the series plus after DBE and Wolverine I see Fox has been rethinking their usual screw things up and not care approach. Maybe just maybe it can cause mainstream public to respect anime more cuz their are still those crowds that brush off anything animated as childish and stupid,trust me I meet people like this alot and this might possibly change that. With atleast a drop of optimism don’t ya think its possible,lol?
My cast would be:
SPIKE: Keanu Reeves (believe it or not, I think he’ll do well! He’s good with roles featuring sparse dialog), the only other alternate would Mathew Fox IMHO
JET: Idris Elba or Sam Jackson
FAYE: Chyler Leigh or Kristin Kreuk (Camilla Belle has the looks, but is too reserved in her performances to be Faye)
ED: Dakota Fanning or Ariel Winter (you need a fearless young actress to do Ed justice), possibly Rhiannon Leigh Wryn (but she may be a bit young for the role considering Ed is 12yrs)
EIN: A real dog.
VICIOUS: Mathew Fox or Johnny Depp (He’s a bit short for the role, but with his performance no one will notice).
JULIA: Kate Bosworth or Sienna Miller (NOT Scarlett Johanson, Julia is a tortured soul and they need an actress who can do depth, not big chi chi’s!) or Nicole Kidman would be perfect…
Reeves is either going to f**k this up or blow it away. On one hand he has had some performances that were quite good, and lead me to believe that he could play a good Spike. On the other hand he has had some boring, and lackluster performances.
But, for god’s sake, I hope they don’t try for Spike’s hair. The DB film became a joke in the trailer, because of the hair. In the DB film they could have had Goku’s hair spiked, but not f**king standing up all the god damn way.
The bottom line is this, Reeves probably won’t be carrying the film, but if everything else falls into place, then the film could pull together. If this happens then it will bring a little more respect to anime.
i think the movie is gonna rock
scifi + keanu reeves = best movie ever
lol how many haters here for k. reeves …
There is no reason to do a live action Cowboy Bebop. The Bebop series is fantastic and they even made a damn awesome movie… and people who are too feeble to appreciate something awesome because it is animated… and MUST have a live action version to acknowledge it… then they don’t deserve to have it available to them.
Cowboy Bebop already exists. We don’t need a crappy live action version (and I assure you, any live action version will be a step down) and that’s it. End of story.
how about we dont put annoying big hollywood celebs to play the cast? that’s just going to ruin its image and disgrace the character..
oh and Zinjo why on earth would you cast JET black?
thats almost the horror of kingpin all over again
I’ve lost all faith in the fan-base. Not quite all faith in humanity, but seriously, don’t you people have anything better to do than bitch? Hate it or love it; watch it or don’t. Just quit bitching for the love of God.
Most of these type of things I just read, respond in my head and move on but after reading all of this I just couldn’t help responding.
First off, I’m a HUGE fan of CB and have been since 1998. I love the show and was obessesed with it for years. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen the entire series because it’s one of those things that never gets old to me.
That said, as much as this show means to me, I believe that if Sunrise and Watanabe poke their head in enough to make sure that this does well, it will. I have nothing but faith in Watanabe because Bebop was his baby, and he wouldn’t let Hollywood tarnish that. Another thing that makes me believe in this movie is that Keanu is personally taking it under his wing, traveling to Japan and pushing for this movie. Since he happens to be a big fan not only will he be able to pull off the role but give personal attention to push himself to be what, imo, he lacks in most of his movies, and that’s spike’s light-heartedness. Keanu has a great dark/moody side and he has always done great being a cocky/sarcastic prick(all of which spike is). The only BIG issue here is age…IE you line up Keanu for Spike and Megan Fox for Faye and wham, all of a sudden that age gap that shouldn’t have mattered before, does.
As far as the rest of the cast is concerned. Here would be my line up:
Faye: Megan Fox (Why you might ask? Simple, you slap green contacts on that girl and you have the look you need. But again that age gap will cause issues on screen…especially because of the underlying charisma between spike and faye. I won’t debate about a potential relationship between the two but if you don’t think there was flirting and possible hints at them liking eachother you’re retarded. And just those slight hints will make Keanu look like a perv, lol.
Jet: Bruce Willis, hands down, no other competition. And I have NO idea why people on here are trying to cast him as black but I find it pretty funny. Makes me wonder how many people that have commented have seen the show or just heard about it somehow and started making a cast.
Ed: I honestly did not know where to begin with this one…but went through some potentials listed by others and choose Alison Lohman because of her boyish look and I’ve seen her act quirky very well but as others said, you would really have to push your limits to play Ed. And again, having Alison Lohman play Ed would cause another age gap to be careful with. Lining up Megan Fox with her on screen would look confusing.
Ein: Yes, real dog, if it’s virtual I’ll shoot myself.
Julia: Ali Larter, this girl has range. To play Julia you’d HAVE to make sure she looked good with long blonde hair, when you think julia you think of a couple of things…leather and blonde. Nicole Kidman might be another good choice but I just don’t know.
Vicious: Viggo Mortensen for sure. He still looks young enough with a bit of makeup and his hair is perfect for it. Anytime you can avoid forcing some shit hairdo you should. I think Viggo could pull off the darkness Vicious has. Then again, you have to constantly be thinking of onscreen, not just who these guys are. Would Viggo look right next to Keanu? Who knows. Age is fine, but comparing pics I find it odd lol.
Another thing that hasn’t been mentioned is how important the music was in Bebop. If they’re not able to keep the blues/noir feeling running strong it just won’t do well. All in all, I think it could be a solid film if done right. Let’s hope for the best.
Do really hope they will not destroy the reputation of Cowboy Bebop like the one live action movie. Really disgusting!
50% in favor for Keannu to be Spike. :)
C’mon – Keanu Reeves might make a great Spike !! ( Or he might flush the whole performance down the crapper….. )
Bruce Willis, Lawrence Fishburne or Samuel L. Jackson might play Jet – Jet should be physically imposing yet smart.
Frances McDormand ( Fargo, Something’s Gotta Give ) as either Faye or Julia
OR
Mila Jovovich as Faye
What about James di Franco as Vicious ?
An alternative actor for Spike – Michael Rosenbaum. In interviews, he has shown a sharp, sassy wit, & he can do cynical, sarcastic & brooding like Spike.
Whaddya think ?
I’m really not comfortable with keanu reeves playing spike. I love the James Franco Idea!!
whether you guys like it or not, this movie will happen. Unless those who strongly detest the production of this movie want to assemble a Task Force to sabotage the set… hehe
P.S. I heard they were considering Man-Faye for Faye Valentine part…
why can’t they just put out another series or a mini-movie or something??
The guys at Sunshine Inc kick wang. Live-action is definitely not the way to go though. whoever came up with that idea should be shot.
hopefully its not too bad though if the original director has a lot to do with it…we’ll see…
At least Keanu knows Kung Fu a little, so he may be able to pull off Jeet Kune Do.
Luke, Keanu Reeves was actually the one who wanted to make the movies first, and if it weren’t for his passion, it never would have even been considered.
I think this movies has a lot of potential. BUT it will fail unless Yoko Kanno is brought back in to do the music for it.
Go Yoko Kanno!
Just had to say, Keanu Reeves is actually a great choice for this character. I’ve read most of the earlier comments, but I must say…as bad as his acting is, he does play the mellow characters well. He also can do the dry humor well also. Don’t believe me? Watch Constantine and tell me that character doesn’t somewhat remind you of Spike Spiegel. He also has a leg up on most other actors because of the shape he is in and the martial arts training he did for the Matrix. All these things factored in with the fact that this movie wouldn’t be getting made without him makes me think, he’s a pretty damn good choice for Spike.
can people stop dissing Keanu Reeves? my brother hates anime, i mean HATES it, and cowboy bebop totally got him, and he loves the idea that reeves is going to be spike! so stop being mean you haven’t even seen how he acts as spike, so before you start getting mad and thinking this live action will s**k give him a chance.
All I want to say is Johnny Depp for vicious. I think he can pull off the dark look of vicious and also his acting skill would be a big part.
I’m not a member on here, but I’m an avid Cowboy Bebop fan and happened across this discussion while investigating all the movie rumours. I’m afraid I have to pitch in here…
Keanu Reeves as Spike Spiegel, *could* work but I don’t think he’s the best choice. Looking objectively: he’s got the martial arts moves, cool in the face action etc. and although it’ll be cringe-worthy, he’s probably one of the few actors out there that could pull off the hair. However. There’s a quality in Spike’s character that will be most notably lost along the way – his wonderful combination of self-assured arrogance, his sense of humour and a kind of grin that – let’s face it – Keanu can’t pull off. If he goes ahead with this film, you’ll get a very different Spike indeed. He’ll be a HELL of a lot broodier for one thing and will lose a lot of charm, for another. I doubt audiences that are new to CB will get a true taste of the series and for that reason, I won’t be able to see it as part of the franchise…
However Bruce Willis as Jet Black will definitely sell a ticket my way, any day. I genuinely think he’d be perfect for the role. Personality, build, voice… even down to his profile. I don’t really get why so many on here think that Jet should be black =S Willis is an amazing cast choice (Y)
Megan Fox as Faye Valentine? Probably one of the better options out there but again, something’s gonna be lost along the way, I think…
To be honest, I can’t see this film being too easy to cast for. But anything’s gotta be better than the embarrassment of Dragonball’s casting.
Age *is* a big issue here as well. I mean, it’s easy to forget just how young everyone is in the series following the plot and the setting… Correct me if I’m wrong (I’m going off memory here) but I think Spike’s meant to be 27, Faye’s 23 (excluding the cryogenic freezing), Jet’s either 36 or 46, Ed’s 13 and Julia and Vicious are roughly the same age as Spike. The only reason I agree wholeheartedly with Willis for Jet is ‘cos Jet really does seem so much older and I reckon Willis (55) could do his character justice…
That’s just my opinion though…
I believe that yes, Reeves does look a bit like Spike…but that doesn’t change the whole “Whoa” phrase he has lingering behind him like a sick shadow of annoyance. If they were to cast him as Spike then I think he would make Spike look more like Neo, (The Matrix), rather than Spike Spiegel. A lot of people here have really great choices for character roles…but how do you even know those characters will be in the film at all? You don’t. I just want Cowboy Bebop to remain the classic IT IS and not be able to say “it was” and for it to be able to keep it’s honor. I’m just afraid for the Bebop franchise. Shitty movies come out ALL THE TIME but money is money and whatever makes it will be made.