Casting Bebop | Jeff Harris, August 8, 2008

Faye Valentine: Call her what you will, just be careful when dealing with her. This femme fatale has many secrets about herself and is one of the few people to really rattle the cool demeanor of Spike. She's a troublemaker, but she can handle herself. Faye's cocky, greedy, and acts very unladylike at times, but there's a method to her madness and a lost soul looking to find herself. Faye's one of the trickier characters to cast. Some would just look at her attractive features and gloss over the great character she is. I'd prefer someone who could also act. That said, two ladies I'd like to see be considered for the role of Faye Valentine are Anne Hathaway and Morena Baccarin Anne's probably more well-known than Morena which could give her an edge. She has already displayed on film that she could bring intelligence, sex appeal, and humor in an action-oriented project in Get Smart. Anne's probably not on anybody's list because of her Disney-era past, but unlike many celebutarts from the Magic Kingdom, she can actually act. So can Morena Baccarin. She's better known as Inara from Firefly/Serenity, an interstellar companion who finds herself in the company of roguish space pirates. She also provided the voice of Black Canary on Justice League Unlimited and is one of the leading contenders to play Wonder Woman. These roles helped cement her sci-fi cred, plus, a role like Faye Valentine is a starmaker to say the least, especially combined with a pitch-perfect script. Ed: What a unique character. An androgenous hacker kid with a strange, catlike mind who is a huge fan of the exploits of the Bebop. By the way, Radical Edward's a 12-year old girl. That said, Ed's the trickiest character to cast in a Cowboy Bebop movie, so they might not have her in the film. But if they do, they might age her a bit, to at least 14-17. That said, it could still be tricky. They could either go the Christopher Reeve route and cast an unknown girl in the role, someone older who could pull off a prepubescent role like Summer Glau, or someone like Amanda Bynes, who could act Ed right down to her strange, quirky behavior. Last, but not least, those to make the film worth watching and hearing.