“Perhaps they are not Japanese.”
‘Bullet Train’ writer Kōtarō Isaka has responded to the controversy surrounding the racial westernization of Japanese characters in the new action comedy starring Brad Pitt.
Based on the Japanese novel Mary Beetle by Isaka from 2010, Bullet Train centers on Brad Pitt’s hit man, Ladybug, who is forced to pick up a briefcase on a shinkansen (“bullet train”), which coincidentally gets accosted by other assassins with plans of their own.
The film was criticized for casting non-Japanese actors for the roles. However, Isaka has supported the decision to cast Pitt, Joey King and Sandra Bullock, among others, in the film’s most prominent roles.
In statements to New York Times, Isaka said that his characters are “ethnically malleable” and that their original Japanese setting and context don’t matter because the murderers in the story “aren’t real people, and maybe they aren’t Japanese.” While discussing Isaka’s take on the characters from him, Sanford Panitch, president of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, added:
It gave us comfort in honoring his Japanese soul, but at the same time it gave the film a chance to have big movie stars and make it work on a global scale.
‘Bullet Train’ features a cast of black, Latino, Asian and white actors, including Michael Shannon, Brian Tyree Henry, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Andrew Koji, Zazie Beetz, Karen Fukuhara, Hiroyuki Sanada, Masi Oka, Logan Lerman and Bad Bunny. .
Screenwriter Zak Olkewicz added that the decision to cast beyond Japanese talent “just shows the strength of the original author’s work and how this could be a story that could transcend race anyway.”
‘Bullet Train’ will hit Spanish cinemas on August 5.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
