Keanu Reeves has officially joined the voice cast of Hidari, a Japanese stop-motion action film being developed by filmmaker Masashi Kawamura. The project was unveiled at the Annecy Animation Showcase during the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
Reeves will voice the title role in the feature, which expands on Kawamura’s earlier short film that gained widespread attention online. The original Hidari pilot drew millions of views on YouTube and helped build momentum for the feature-length version.
The film is being produced by Dwarf Studios, with Noriko Matsumoto among the producers. Kawamura is also attached as writer and director, and the team presented the project’s current status and future plans at Cannes.
Hidari is inspired by the legend of Jingoro Hidari, a craftsman from Japan’s Edo period, and blends samurai action with stop-motion animation. The feature is being developed as a 90-minute film.
