You might remember hearing up-and-coming (actually unproven) director Carl Erik Rinsch’s name being tossed about in discussions of Ridley Scott’s planned Alien prequel or reboot. However, Scott took Rinsch off the project to see over it himself, leading the man to head in another direction: that of 47 Ronin.
In a logline that reads like someone didn’t quite understand why The Last Samurai didn’t work, 47 Ronin will be an “epic period samurai swordsmen tale that will star Keanu Reeves” which will tell “the famous fact-based story of a band of samurai swordsmen who avenge the death of their master in 18th century Japan.”
You heard me right. Keanu Reeves. Samurai. I know the guy’s half Asian — that doesn’t stop him from having the acting chops of a bump on a log. Rinsch, who cut his teeth on car commercials, will direct the film from a script by Chris Morgan, the man who wrote Wanted. This film is quickly getting the chips stacked against it, but I’ll reserve judgment for when I see the final product. Who knows — maybe we’ll have a Neil Blomkamp-esque success on our hands that completely exceeds my expectations.
