Who among us expected Keanu Reeves to make a cameo in an Armored Core animated series? The news seems to have left Secret Level’s government producer reeling with surprise.
Notorious for his versatility, Keanu Reeves’ surprise appearance in the first Secret Degree trailer sent shockwaves through fans – a giant star in any context, it’s unexpected to find him involved in an Armored Core animated short, Cyberpunk 2077 being one notable exception. Despite being asked by the government producer whether there was a role available for the actor, Dave Wilson, the show’s creator, initially thought the inquiry was merely a humorous gesture. GamesRadar recently sat down with Ryan Wilson and Deadpool’s creator, Tim Miller, where they discussed the experience of bringing Keanu Reeves on board for their project.
“We hadn’t had the pleasure of working together before, although I did have a brief encounter with him.” He’s an ardent aficionado of animation, and he went so far as to visit Blur Studios in person to converse with me about two films, back-to-back, saying, “Let’s focus on Love, Death & Robots.” What would you like to know exactly? I like animation.’
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“I pointed out that we’re approaching this situation from a unique angle.” As we entered the room, I asked if anyone wanted to participate and received a curt response: “F**k yeah.” I then asked if they had any specific goals or objectives for playing, but they simply replied, “Just put me in, coach.” So, I asked Dave, “If you’d seen a solid Keanu Reeves in person, what character would he be?” Initially, Dave thought I was joking about casting Keanu Reeves as someone in real life.
As Keanu Reeves arrived on set relatively late in the series, Wilson recalled being perplexed upon receiving a text from Miller that read, “Hey, do we’ve got something for piano?” He admitted to feeling confused, later recalling that he hadn’t given it much thought at first, only realizing his mistake after noticing all the artwork on the walls. There weren’t many episodes remaining to complete, prompting me to consider casting actors in movie projects. My thought was: “Tim, I’ve exhausted my character options.”
As the last major role remains unfilled, the showrunners surprisingly secure John Cho’s collaborator Keanu Reeves for a key part; we won’t have to wait long to gauge his impact as the series premieres its initial episodes on Prime Video next week, set to debut on December 10.
