Lone Wolf & Cub Film Rights Acquired with Justin Lin

[Octoberist]

Lin should focus on this, and leave Fast & Furious behind. He had a damn good run but it's time to move on.

Also, I feel that the delay sorta helps the movie if they want Asian actors. If it were made a few years ago, it could've pulled The Last Airbender. Until recently, people are calling out Hollywood on their BS. Sometimes people go overboard YES, but there are times when they're right about casting choices.

 

[sweetre15]

Lin should focus on this, and leave Fast & Furious behind. He had a damn good run but it's time to move on.

Also, I feel that the delay sorta helps the movie if they want Asian actors. If it were made a few years ago, it could've pulled The Last Airbender. Until recently, people are calling out Hollywood on their BS. Sometimes people go overboard YES, but there are times when they're right about casting choices.

That's actually a good point....A rather strategic movie to have a mostly Japanese cast in an American adaptation while people are ravaging Hollywood films that are whitewashing characters.

 

[sweetre15]

What I'm also hoping is that for the fight scenes we get something a bit Kurosawa esque and not a bunch of quick cut action scenes

 

[TheVileOne]

I dunno. We'll see. 47 Ronin still got released in late 2013 starring...Keanu Reeves.

Still such a weird thing. $175 million. Almost an all Japanese cast, save for a made-up character to have Keanu Reeves as the star, and a made up romance. Plus all the fantasy aspects.

 

[Octoberist]

Things have changed dramatically in the past two years, starting around 2014. Now it doesn't mean that Hollywood doesn't pull dumb stuff from time to time but until this year, now they're more...alert.

What helped was The Force Awakens and Disney in general. With Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac, it helped with bringing more diversity to the table, along with the upcoming Black Panther and from the looks of, maybe Wrinkle in Time.

 

[Octoberist]

As an Asian guy, I was fine with Keanu in 47 Ronin. He has more Asian in him than Depp has Cherokee so he passes the test.

 

[Octoberist]

Actually I'm more POed at Blade Runner 2 if they don't have any Asian leads in the main cast. Especially with the original having a huge Asian motif. Ghost in the Shell might be good but it depends on what they're doing with ScarJo's character. If her android character was Asian and was transfer to a white body, that's just..awkward.

 

[sweetre15]

Things have changed dramatically in the past two years, starting around 2014. Now it doesn't mean that Hollywood doesn't pull dumb stuff from time to time but until this year, now they're more...alert.

What helped was The Force Awakens and Disney in general. With Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac, it helped with bringing more diversity to the table, along with the upcoming Black Panther and from the looks of, maybe Wrinkle in Time.

Not only that we have the latest Jungle Book movie with Neel Sethi playing Mowgli and literally being the only physical actor in the film and it's still largely a success. It has a veteran supporting voice cast but still

 

[TheVileOne]

Things have changed dramatically in the past two years, starting around 2014. Now it doesn't mean that Hollywood doesn't pull dumb stuff from time to time but until this year, now they're more...alert.

What helped was The Force Awakens and Disney in general. With Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac, it helped with bringing more diversity to the table, along with the upcoming Black Panther and from the looks of, maybe Wrinkle in Time.

Except we still have Great Wall starring Matt Damon and Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson as Motoko Kusanagi.

 

[Octoberist]

That was made in 2014, meaning that it was in developed since 2012-2013, and now they're getting poop for it. It takes years to make a movie, as you know.

That's why I brought up The Force Awakens. it's a tangible change to the casting system that now studios are trying to recalibrate how they do casting. Master of None further it too. So any movie now in pre-production are more aware of the race problem.

Hollywood's not perfect and will never be perfect but it's now they have to change their ways a bit.

 

[Octoberist]

Here's an example of the imperfections of Hollywood: If you look at Meg for example, there is an Asian actress cast, but she's probably not gonna be the leading lady. That is going to that no-name blonde instead.

 

[sweetre15]

Now based on what is said about Justin Lin and how he fought for Asians to appear is his debut film even when he was pressured to cast Macaulay Culkin instead and how he also goes out of his way to rewrite scripts when the portrayals of Asians are offensive or too stereotypical has me convinced that he's gonna stick to his guns with casting Japanese actors for the main roles along with Steven Paul feeling that a story of this nature calls for Japanese in the main roles predominantly with maybe some "international actors" in supporting roles.

But from what I understand this will also largely draw from the film Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict which I suppose sounds promising if only they can finally use the ending from the manga.

 

[moonclaw]

Lin should focus on this, and leave Fast & Furious behind. He had a damn good run but it's time to move on.

Also, I feel that the delay sorta helps the movie if they want Asian actors. If it were made a few years ago, it could've pulled The Last Airbender. Until recently, people are calling out Hollywood on their BS. Sometimes people go overboard YES, but there are times when they're right about casting choices.

Unlike other studios disney can afford to these thing and they're pretty much the only ones doing it. China just cast matt damon in their most expensive film to date.

this manga is a period piece set in japan right? with no fantasy elements? why would they cast non-asians in this?

Also I'm quite sure hollywood isn't going to change it's way even a bit. they follow money, and they'll do whatever they believe will make them money.

 

[sweetre15]

To my understanding Lone Wolf and Cub isn't being handled by a commercial studio thought it's working with Keanu Reeves 1212 Entertainment and has Shane Mcmahon's wife Marissa McMahon involved in some capacity

 

[moonclaw]

in anycase I'm pretty sure the lead will be asian, I don't see any reason why not or anyone who would be against it.

Anyways I'm pleased this will progress anime/manga/LN presence in hollywood. Manga movies could be the next big thing like comic book adaptations.

 

[TheVileOne]

I'm not sure Look at Oldboy.

 

[sweetre15]

I'm not sure Look at Oldboy.

Original film adaptation or that lackluster Spike Lee remake?

 

[moonclaw]

i haven't watched oldboy but a quick look at google I can see it's not a period piece like this.

 

[Octoberist]

As an Asian dude, I think handling anime and manga properties in America is difficult because it really depends on the material and how Japanese/Asian it is.

For example, I was not mad at the bad Oldboy remake because it has a mostly white cast. The story itself isn't inherently American, though the original story (and movie) benefited from the Asian weirdness from the Koreans and Japanese that only they can do.

With Akira, I would like an Asian cast. With Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchmist, and Attack on Titan, I prefer mostly white/or a mix of races.

There's no one way.

 

[Asgard]

I'm not sure Look at Oldboy.

Not a good comparison.

Spike Lee's Oldboy is an American version of the Korean original.

Like the Bruce Willis movie Last Man Standing was the American equivalent to Yojimbo.

Or even more appropriate comparison would be Unforgiven starring Ken Watanabe.

 

[chamber-music]

Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada from The Last Samurai are Hollywood's go to Japanese actors.

Watanabe is recently receiving treatment for stomach cancer.

Tadanobu Asano (Hogun in the Thor films) would make a good Ogami Ittō.

Asano was the villain in 47 Ronin and will be in Scorsese's upcoming film Silence. He is also co-starring with Jared Leto in Yakuza action flick The Outsider.

Actually I'm more POed at Blade Runner 2 if they don't have any Asian leads in the main cast. Especially with the original having a huge Asian motif.

James Hong was the only Asian lead in the original film.

Does Dave Bautista not count? Bautisa is part filipino.

The main cast of Blade Runner 2 sounds even more diverse than the original. You have Israeli, Swiss, Dutch, Spanish, Somali, British, Canadian and American actors all in the main roles.

Except we still have Great Wall starring Matt Damon and Ghost in the Shell starring Scarlett Johansson as Motoko Kusanagi.

Both of those movies have received some backlash

Constance Wu's comments about Matt Damon in Great Wall has picked up media attention and Ghost In The Shell's casting got a lot of chatter as well.

Lionsgate put out a statement about improving their future casting diversity during the whole Gods of Egypt fiasco.

It does seem like we are reaching a tipping point in which more and more people are voicing their displeasure at certain casting choices. Hollywood won't change unless it hurts the box office though.

 

[Loki882]

This story is set in Feudal Era Japan, and that's really important to the story. So unless they radically change things, it'd make no sense at all NOT to have an Asian cast.

 

[Thundarr]

I love the Lone Wolf & Cub comics. I own several of Dark Horse Comics' English translated versions. Back in the 1980's Sho Kasugi would have made a great Ogami Itto. Too bad he's too old now. Maybe his son Cho? I believe he's an actor now (and having grown up in America, he's likely speaks much better English than his father does).

Maybe Lee Byung-Hun from the GI Joe movies? He's South Korean, not Japanese, but he did a pretty good job as Storm Shadow (Granted the movies weren't very good, but that was the fault of the writers and directors, not the actors).

 

[Thundarr]