LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Keanu Reeves will star in 20th Century Fox's big-screen version of the Japanese anime TV series "Cowboy Bebop," playing a bounty hunter traveling through space in 2071.

One of the big titles in anime, "Bebop" is set in a time when "astral gates" make interstellar travel possible. Humanity, decimated by a lunar explosion resulting from a gate accident, has spread out across the solar system, as has crime, giving rise to the use of bounty hunters.

Reeves would play Spike Spiegel, a bounty hunter and former member of a crime syndicate. Spiegel and Jet Black, a fellow bounty hunter and former cop, are the pilots of the spaceship Bebop.

Peter Craig is writing the script.

The show, which first aired on Tokyo TV and satcaster Wowow during the late '90s, was influenced strongly by American music, featuring action sequences -- both space battles and mano a mano fights -- timed to U.S. melodies.

Reeves' association with the project leaked in the summer when Fox and 3 Arts Entertainment began the process of acquiring the rights from Sunrise Studios.

"Bebop" marks a return to Fox for Reeves, who starred in the studio's December release "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

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TheEnnis

Chicago, IL

March 2008

JAN 15, 2009 07:13 PM

Hey now he was really good in Thumbsucker.

wenis

San Francisco, CA

July 2006

JAN 15, 2009 07:15 PM

hahahah FOX making cowboy bebop with keanu reeves....o god this will end terribly.

DogChasingCars said:
Hey now he was really good in Thumbsucker.

you say "really good" i read mediocre. which is about as high as keanu reeve's acting chops can get to.

dingoes8

Milwaukee, WI

March 2004

JAN 15, 2009 07:19 PM

Considering Reeves actually has more range than any crappy anime voice actor, and the script will be written in English and not a crappy translation of Japanese, chock full of humor that doesn't make any sense in America... this will probably be more watchable than the original.

Homme

Los Angeles, CA

January 2009

JAN 15, 2009 07:20 PM

Oh good, I was wondering what franchise he was going to ruin next.

Morgan

SUICIDEGIRL

Illinois, USA

JAN 15, 2009 07:26 PM

WHY?!

Pom_felo

San Antonio, TX

February 2004

JAN 15, 2009 07:33 PM

I don't mean to be a fanboy about this, but, nooooooooooooooo!

MrStitches

Brooklyn, NY

November 2003

JAN 15, 2009 07:36 PM

There are 80 billions crappy Japanese anime series they could fuck up, and that have to pick one of the few that I like? God damn it.

Darke

Columbia, MO

June 2005

JAN 15, 2009 07:45 PM

Well, hey, maybe they can poorly dub it with a voice-over actor

Quirky

Birmingham, AL

October 2005

JAN 15, 2009 08:16 PM

Bruce Campbell as Jet, please.
Dwam as Ed!

Pom_felo

San Antonio, TX

February 2004

JAN 15, 2009 08:24 PM

MrStitches said:
There are 80 billions crappy Japanese anime series they could fuck up, and that have to pick one of the few that I like? God damn it.

It was either this or Death Note with Shia Lebeouf.

mogwai_

USA

February 2008

JAN 15, 2009 08:50 PM

this is so not shiny

Shal

Los Angeles, CA

October 2002

JAN 15, 2009 09:08 PM

pomfelo said:

MrStitches said:
There are 80 billions crappy Japanese anime series they could fuck up, and that have to pick one of the few that I like? God damn it.

It was either this or Death Note with Shia Lebeouf.

GOD NO.

Cassiel

Aurora, CO

September 2004

JAN 15, 2009 09:18 PM

hahaha

mistressmissy

Grand Rapids, MI

March 2003

JAN 16, 2009 02:14 AM

I somehow doubt they'll have Keanu dye his hair green.