More often than never, a star’s life takes a turn when they make a decision, whether it may be in their professional career or their personal life. This turn can either make or break the upcoming years of the star’s life. One such decision was taken by Keanu Reeves when he was offered to play Neo in the iconic film trilogy The Matrix, and the rest is history.
Keanu Reeves
And ever since then, the star has taken many such decisions that have helped him shape his career and become one of the most successful stars in the business. But sometimes, decisions have negative consequences, which reflect upon the choices you make. Such a choice landed Reeves on bad terms with the entire industry in the past.
Not Doing Speed 2 Blacklisted Keanu Reeves From 20th Century Fox Studios?
Keanu Reeves in a still from Speed
Known for his exceptional and iconic performances in some of the most successful and critically-acclaimed films in cinema history, Keanu Reeves has set himself apart from the rest of the Hollywood hierarchy. While being a revered star, he’s also been hailed as the nicest man on earth with the numerous fan interactions he’s had, all of whom have nothing but nice things to say about him. Therefore, when people hear that the star was blacklisted from 20th Century Fox Studios, it almost seems wrong.
In a past interview, the Constantine star was talking about his then-upcoming film John Wick 4, where he was asked why he wasn’t part of Speed 2: Cruise Control. To this, Reeves replied, saying that while he loved doing the original film, he wasn’t sold on the idea of having a boat replace the bus, plus, he was exhausted at the time, doing many films back to back. This decision came to haunt the star as he also revealed that 20th Century Fox Studios never approached him for another project for the next 15 years. he said:
“It was a tough decision, I really had an amazing time filming and making Speed. It did pretty well so there was a ‘let’s do it again.’ Then I was doing a film at the time called Chain Reation and I was in Chicago and I read the script. That film was pretty physical. It was a lot of running and cold. So they showed me the script and I just didn’t see it. I didn’t get it. So I couldn’t do it. I didn’t work at Fox for 15 years after that, I believe so, but I don’t know. It’s only a theory. I ended up working there again but it took 15 years.”
After doing Chain Reaction with the studio, Reeves didn’t receive any proposals from the company until 2008, when he was featured in The Day The Earth Stood Still.
What Was Speed About?
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in a still from Speed
One of the biggest hits of the 1990s, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock’s Speed became one of the highlighting films of both the stars’ careers. The film follows the story of Jack Traven, an LAPD officer who is dispatched to locate and capture a mad bomber that has placed bombs all over Los Angeles and is threatening to blow them all up if he doesn’t get the demanded ransom. One of these bombs is placed on a bus that will explode if the vehicle’s speed drops below 50 miles per hour.
Speed, streaming on Hulu.
