Before seeing the light of day as a Netflix series, a film adaptation project of “Cowboy Bebop” almost saw the light of day with Keanu Reeves in the lead role!
Long before taking the lead role in the John Wick saga, Keanu Reeves almost stared in a film adapted from Cowboy Bebop! In the early 2000s, still crowned with the planetary success of the Matrix trilogy, the Canadian actor was indeed on track to play the role of Spike Spiegel, main protagonist of the famous Japanese anime.
However, after long months of development, the project did not finally see the light of day. Despite the presence of Keanu Reeves in the cast, the film did not get the green light from 20th Century Fox for budget reasons. Deemed too little known to the American public, the anime did not seem to have enough notoriousness to justify a blockbuster budget with the studio. An observation that had also nipped in the bud the adaptation project of Cobra by Alexandre Aja …
Interviewed by us in 2017 during the promotion of John Wick 2, Keanu Reeves had confided to our microphone his regrets that the project could not be completed. Big fan of Cowboy Bebop, the role of Spike Spiegel – this bounty hunter halfway between relaxation and melancholy – would indeed have been perfect for him.
After several years, the adaptation of Cowboy Bebop was born: the role of Spike Spiegel was entrusted to John Cho, seen in particular in the reboot Star Trek trilogy. As for him, Keanu Reeves has just completed the filming of the fourth part of John wick.
