Josh Hartnett has been cast as a martial arts wielding leading man in the upcoming project Benraku. We get the news of this casting from the professionals at Variety:
Josh Hartnett has been cast to lead Snoot Entertainment’s latest effort, martial arts action pic “Bunraku.” The “30 Days of Night” thesp will play an unnamed, revenge-seeking drifter in an alternate universe. Snoot boasts the pic’s chockablock inspirations, which stretch from Japanese puppet theater to video games to German expressionism, and is billing the story as a spaghetti-Western-samurai-gangster mashup. Guy Moshe (“Holly”) will write and direct, with lensing to begin this spring in Europe.
Is it just me or does the plot outline remind you of Kill Bill? A revenge seeking drifter in a samurai/western …is Kill Bill. I certainly do not mind if other films share the same hybrid genre – but I certainly hope for a story that differs from Kill Bill, and a film of like quality.
It is strange to see Hartnett as the lead in this one, but if Uma was tuned into a fighting machine through hard work and dedication, I suppose Harnett could do the same. For all I know – the man already may be a martial arts enthusiast, and has been waiting in the weeds for the perfect opportunity to showcase his skills. Filming for this project begins this month and we will be sure to keep you posted on details as they come.
