*Courtesy of Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty.*

Keanu Reeves will voice the title character in ‘Hidari,’ a Japanese stop-motion action feature now in development from director Masashi Kawamura, producers announced Sunday in Cannes.

The film builds on Kawamura’s 2023 proof-of-concept short, also titled ‘Hidari,’ which went viral and has drawn nearly 5 million views on YouTube. Loosely based on the legend of Jingoro Hidari, a near-mythical master carpenter from Japan’s Edo period, the story centers on an artisan whose life is shattered when a betrayal connected to the secret rebuilding of Edo Castle costs him his father figure, his fiancée and his right arm. Driven by grief and revenge, he creates and fights with a range of mechanical prosthetic arms, aided by his faithful animated wooden companion, the Sleeping Cat. Kawamura also wrote the screenplay.

“I’m super excited to be collaborating with Keanu,” Kawamura said. “When someone with his experience and creative vision watches your proof of concept and says, ‘I want to be part of this,’ it’s an incredible feeling. He’s not just lending his voice to ‘Hidari,’ he’s helping us shape and expand this world, and I can’t wait to see where we take it together.”

Reeves’ voice work includes Duke Caboom in Pixar’s ‘Toy Story 4’ and Shadow the Hedgehog in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3.’ He has also narrated and produced projects tied to his ‘BRZRKR’ comic-book universe and its Netflix adaptation.

Kawamura, based in Tokyo, is known internationally for design-led, genre-crossing work across commercials, music videos, television and major public installations. His honors include a Cristal from the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, an International Emmy nomination, and top prizes from the One Show and Clio Awards.

‘Hidari’ is produced by Noriko Matsumoto, head of Japan’s Dwarf Studios, the animation company behind Netflix’s ‘Rilakkuma’ series. Dwarf’s recent short ‘Bottle George’ was shortlisted for the 2025 Academy Awards. The feature is being made as a co-production between Dwarf Studios, Tokyo creative agency Whatever and animation studio TECARAT. Financing is provided by Questry Co.’s Tomonobu Ibe, a longtime figure in Japanese entertainment-content finance.

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