That star Keanu Reeves and director Carl Erik Rinsch have been attached to make a US studio version of 47 Ronin - a classic samurai tale that has been put on film at least six times previously - but what hasn't been known is who will be filling the other key roles. That may have just changed.
Though this should be considered only a rumor at this point there are rumblings out of Japan that Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Batman Begins, Inception) and Tadanobu Asano (Ichi The Killer, Last Life In The Universe) have both joined the cast. And while unconfirmed I consider this reliable both due to the source and the simple fact that if a US studio is going to cast Japanese these are the right names given that Watanabe is already arguably the most recognizable Asian actor on US shores while Asano is clearly someone the studios are banking on as well with his roles in upcoming blockbusters Thor and Battleship.
The bigger questions, of course, are why the hell Keanu Reeves is in a version of 47 Ronin at all and just how revisionist this is going to be with history.
Though this should be considered only a rumor at this point there are rumblings out of Japan that Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Batman Begins, Inception) and Tadanobu Asano (Ichi The Killer, Last Life In The Universe) have both joined the cast. And while unconfirmed I consider this reliable both due to the source and the simple fact that if a US studio is going to cast Japanese these are the right names given that Watanabe is already arguably the most recognizable Asian actor on US shores while Asano is clearly someone the studios are banking on as well with his roles in upcoming blockbusters Thor and Battleship.
The bigger questions, of course, are why the hell Keanu Reeves is in a version of 47 Ronin at all and just how revisionist this is going to be with history.