# Evangelion movie: Keanu Reeves is Shinji?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596 "2003-07-06T17:52:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/1 "2003-07-06T17:52:04Z")
[Please tell me that this is a joke](http://mash.100freemb.com/evangelion.gif) Now I am not one of those people that hate Keanu, but he simply cannot be Shinji! For two big reasons: 1. Shinji is 14 2. Shinji is Japanese. 3. Opal would not approve. No, this has to be a joke. This is too stupid for words. Well, if you did have to have a white guy, Pachino is ot a bad choice for Gendo. Nah, this can’t be real. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/2 "2003-07-06T17:53:34Z")
Ugh, copy and paste the image url. ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/3 "2003-07-06T18:41:40Z")
They are probably changing the characters of the three Eva pilots and making them older in the movie. That’s probably a good move since it will be quite hard to get teenagers who can pull of the roles of Shinji,Rei and Asuka the way they are done in the series. I doubt the film will be as good as the series but unless it gets truly horrible reviews I will probably check it out. Anyone else has more information about the film? ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_J\_LeMieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Steven\_J\_LeMieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_J_LeMieux)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/4 "2003-07-06T18:45:48Z")
Gads, that is horrid. Animes should stay animated, and little Japanese boys should not turn into white men. ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/5 "2003-07-06T18:57:55Z")
Isn’t Keanu half-Asian? Anyway I think the film should be judged on its own terms. There is no way that they will be able to buld up the characters and story like in the series but if they get some good writers and director there is no reason why you couldn’t get a decent film which shares the same broad theme as the series while making some big changes. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/6 "2003-07-06T19:19:48Z")
It must be a joke. There’s nothing in IMDB, the closest thing is [this](http://us.imdb.com/Details?0368466), which is Danish, and doesn’t have anyo of the actors mention on that poster. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/7 "2003-07-06T19:35:37Z")
It’s a joke. Hideakki Anno would probably kill the perpetrator of such a film with his own bare hands. Besides, the linked poster doesn’t look at all professional. Keanu Reeves would do an even worse Shinji than Spike Spencer (the English voice actor). Besides, with Keanu as Shinji, they would have to get [River Phoenix](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0102494) to be Kaworu, and he’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/8 "2003-07-06T19:53:03Z")
> **[Evangelion Live Action Movie - Slashdot](https://slashdot.org/story/03/05/21/1213257/evangelion-live-action-movie)** > > Rob Sollanych writes "ADV Films has just announced the production of a live action movie based on many people's favourite anime series of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Special Effects will be developed by Weta Workshop, Ltd, the company that ... The film seems to be real enough but the poster in the OP is probably a joke. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/9 "2003-07-06T21:42:24Z")
Egads! As if that series wasn’t confusing enough as it was, they’re going to try to cram it into a two and a half hour version? Dumb. Very, very dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/10 "2003-07-06T22:04:59Z")
I’m picturing Keanu in a live-action version of those last two episodes. I think I pulled something in my brain. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evangelion-movie-keanu-reeves-is-shinji/186596/11 "2003-07-07T04:44:51Z")
In the “_not_ one of the highest achievements of Lilim culture” column…