Space Cowboy Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves is to star in Cowboy Bebop.

The 'A Scanner Darkly' actor has landed a role in the futuristic new movie, based on an acclaimed Japanese anime series.

Keanu will play reformed criminal Spike Siegel, now a space cowboy and co-pilot of the spaceship Bebop who is battling his own demons.

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The actor playing Spike's co-pilot Jet Black has not yet been announced.

The premise of the series is that humanity has built "astral gates" to get around the solar system easily. The first one, in the moon's orbit, destroyed half the moon, raining rock on the planet beneath and killing 4.5 billion people.

Fifty years later the survivors are living underground as the rocks keep falling, but have perfected the astral gate technology that allows them to colonise the solar system.

As crime flourishes authorities rely on bounty hunters like Keanu's character to bring in the worst offenders.

Filming is set to start shooting later this year.

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