It’s hard to imagine, but the star of ‘The Matrix’ trilogy, ‘Constantine’ and the classic ‘Bill & Ted’ movies, Keanu Reeves, now 50 years old, has hit something of a dry spot when it comes to studio films. While promoting his latest hit movie ‘John Wick’, the actor candidly admitted “It sucks, but it’s just the way it is.”
He also opened up about missing out on two high profile comic book roles. “I always wanted to play Wolverine, but I didn’t get that and they have a great Wolverine now” he states in reference to Hugh Jackman, who ended up winning the role as the main X-Men character.
“I always wanted to play the Dark Knight, but I didn’t get that one” he also mentioned, presumably referring to Christian Bale’s take on Batman from the Christopher Nolan-directed trilogy.
Things aren’t all glum for the actor. ‘John Wick’ did better at the box office than it was anticipated it would do, making $14 million and coming in second behind ‘Ouija’. And he’s landed the lead in Lotus/di Boneventura’s new science fiction film ‘Replicas’. The film is slated to be directed by Tanya Wexler based on a screenplay by Stephen Hamel.
Here is the description of the film:
“The sci-fi thriller centers on a daring neuroscientist (Reeves) who, after a car accident kills his family, will stop at nothing to bring them back, even if it means pitting himself against a government-controlled laboratory, a police task force and the physical laws of science.”
Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel of Lotus Entertainment stated, “We loved the notion of taking the ‘how far will a man go to save his family’ story hook and then adding a high concept sci-fi twist. Keanu has obviously had a lot of success in the sci-fi genre, and we are excited to have him anchoring a story, which we believe will have great appeal to audiences across the globe.”
Reeves previously worked with producer Lorenzo di Boneventura on ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Constantine’, so their working relationship has already proven fruitful. The producer spoke about working with Reeves again by saying “I have always been impressed by (his) ability to bring a genuine level of humanity to the sci-fi genre through his performance. I am looking forward to collaborating with Keanu once again on this unique take on what lengths a person will go to alter the past, and the implications of those actions.”
What do you think? Are you looking forward to seeing Keanu take center stage in another science fiction movie?
Sources: Daily Mail, The Hollywood Reporter
