Ken Watanabe To Star In Japanese ?Unforgiven? Reworking

Ken Watanabe is set to star in the Japanese version of the 1992 American film "Unforgiven."

The charismatic actor, who has appeared in such films as "Inception," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "The Last Samurai" will take on the lead role, originally played by Clint Eastwood.

Initially set in the old west, the Japanese version will be a samurai film entitled "The Villain." Like the original, the film is set in 1880. It follows swordsman (Watanabe), living in Hokkaido, who is tempted out of retirement and isolation for one last job. Lee Sang-Il is set to direct.

The film is one of few American films to undergo a Japanese remake - more often, it's the other way around: Hollywood is known for reimagining Japanese films such as "Seven Samurai" ("The Magnificent Seven") "Ringu" ("The Ring"), "Ju-on," ("Dark Water").

A small number of American films have been adapted for Japanese audiences. This includes "Saidoweizu" ("Sideways"), "Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night" (a combination of "Paranormal Activity" remake and sequel), and "Ghost."

In March, Watanabe decided to retreat from Hollywood and return to his native Japan following the tsunami that devastated the region in 2011.

"I was in LA a week ago and I told my agent that I have to be in Japan this year, maybe next year I'll think again about projects in Hollywood," Watanabe told the Hollywood Reporter. "

The actor visited over 20 evacuation centers in the port of Kesennuma and filmed his experiences for the documentary "Beyond the Tsunami"-which aired on the Discovery channel.

The 52-year-old has said that the disaster and his battle with bone marrow leukemia in 1989 have affected him artistically.

"Having the experience of suffering a very serious illness also affected the way I approached my acting," he said. "Witnessing the disasters and the recovery will have an effect on my career too but I'm not sure how yet."