Character Posters for Keanu Reeves’s ’47 Ronin’

The Matrix vet has been busy recently. Generation Um was widely panned, but for basically every element but Reeves himself. His directorial debut, the martial arts film Man of Tai Chi opened in China and certain southeast Asian markets earlier this year. And coming this Christmas day his samurai epic, 47 Ronin, which got some very pretty posters today. Take a look:

The film is based on the true story of a group of 47 Japanese samurai in the early 18th century who avenged their fallen leader despite immense personal costs (namely ritual suicide proscribed as judgment for their vengeful murder). The tale quickly became popular in Japan, attaining an almost mythic quality in its many fictionalized retellings. As the posters might suggest, this film will not be trying to achieve historical realism. In fact, it will be introducing a fantasy element to the story.

Reeves will be playing Kai, a half-British, half-Japanese warrior who it seems may be a newcomer to the 47 (and in such a case would serve as the audience proxy, so it seems likely this will be the case). 47 Ronin is the feature debut for director Carl Rinsch. The film also stars Pacific Rim co-star Rinko Kikuchi, Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, The Last Samurai), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Tekken, Memoirs of a Geisha), and Tadanobu Asano (Thor, Battleship).