Keanu Reeves is set to lend his voice to the title role of Hidari, a Japanese stop-motion action feature in development from director Masashi Kawamura, the project’s producers announced Sunday in Cannes.
The feature is an expansion of Kawamura’s viral 2023 proof-of-concept short of the same name, which has racked up close to 5 million views on YouTube since its release. 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. Kawamura has also written the screenplay.
“I’m thrilled by the vision behind Hidari,” Reeves said in a 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.”
