Variety has an article about the new Hidden Fortress remake that was announced by Toho. The article adds the following to what we already know:
In a departure from the original, the two bumbling peasants who attach themselves to the general and princess … will be combined into a single character, a mountain-dweller played by Jun Matsumoto, from boy band Arashi, who stars in hit TV drama “Hana yori dango” (Boys Over Flowers). Matsumoto has also appeared in pics, including 2004 hit “Tokyo Tower.”
why?
The two peasants reflected off each other, to give depth to a otherwise shallow characters.
Kinda important when your lead characters dont have much to them but simply greed.