Keanu Reeves knows a thing or two about the samurai code. John Wick lives and kills by a certain warrior honor code. Reeves also starred in Carl Rinsch’s epic, 47 Ronin, and narrated the Toshiro Mifune doc Mifune: The Last Samurai. So it’s no shock to learn that he’s been recruited for Hidari, the samurai stop-motion animated film by Masashi Kawamura.
Hidari will be a feature-length version of Kawamura’s short film, with Reeves voicing the title character, Jingoro Hidari.
Here’s the synopsis that emerged at the Cannes Film Market, where Hidari is out to buyers…
“Loosely inspired by the legend of Jingoro Hidari, a near-mythic master carpenter from Japan’s Edo period, the film follows the artisan as he loses his father figure, his fiancée and his right arm to a betrayal tied to the secret reconstruction of Edo Castle — then channels his grief into vengeance, wielding a series of mechanical prosthetic arms of his own design alongside his loyal animated wooden companion, the Sleeping Cat.”
Reeves has been doing a lot of voice work lately, including voicing Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4 & 5, and voicing Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & 4.
“I’m thrilled by the vision behind ‘Hidari,’” Reeves said in an official statement. “From the proof of concept to the developed script, the team has created something truly extraordinary. It has all the makings of an exceptional film — one I’m excited to see and eager to be part of. I believe this project has the potential to bring something very special to audiences worldwide.”
You can check out Kawamura’s Hidari short, which was designed as a proof of concept in hopes of getting a full-length movie together.
