Less than a year after 47 RONIN lost a ton of money for Universal with Keanu's name stamped all over it, and Keanu's back in the saddle thanks to the terrific reception (both critically and financially) of JOHN WICK. At 50, his viability as an action star is as potent as ever, and now, Tarsem Singh wants him to head up his sci-fi thriller, THE PANOPTICON.
THE PANOPTICON would have Keanu star as an average dude (presumably with awesome hair) who gets a message from his future self, warning him that the apocalypse is on its way. He's gotta PAYCHECK/KNOWING the clues together before the sky starts falling.
But it's Tarsem, so I'd imagine shit gets a little crazier than in those movies.
Webster has two definitions for "panopticon": "an optical instrument combining the telescope and microscope" or "a prison so built radially that a guard at a central position can see all the prisoners." I have no idea which of these definitions is what's being referenced in the title, but I could see Tarsem having a blast with the idea of a prison (or madhouse) designed specifically for a lone watchman. Considering that the script for this was written by THE UNINVITED/THE QUIET ONES' Craig Rosenberg, the horror of a "panopticon" prison, where the inmates constantly live in fear of being watched without their knowledge, could perhaps be central to the narrative
Either way, I like the title, and that it's making me wonder about this stuff.
Keanu hasn't signed yet, and "negotiations are in a sensitive stage," so it's possible that another actor signs on, but I would personally love to see a Tarsem/Keanu jam. MAN OF TAI CHI and JOHN WICK showed that Keanu is more than willing to get a little absurd and stylized with his action movies these days, and THE CELL/THE FALL director would probably utilize his patented mix of machismo and elegance better than Carl Rinsch did on the unfortunate 47 RONIN. Besides, this collaboration seems to have been a long time coming: Tarsem was once attached to both CONSTANTINE and 47 RONIN before their respective directors came onboard, so maybe the forces are trying to line these two up together, no?
