The appearance of Keanu Reeves in an animated short for Armored Core was as unexpected as it was thrilling, and it seems that nobody was more astonished than Secret Level’s executive producer. Reeves, a renowned actor, surprised everyone when he popped up in the initial Secret Level trailer. Even with his role in Cyberpunk 2077, I don’t think anyone anticipated him starring in an Armored Core animated short.
Interestingly, when the show’s executive producer, Dave Wilson, was first approached about including Reeves, he thought it was all a bit of a joke. In an interview with GamesRadar, Wilson and Tim Miller, the creator of the show and the director of Deadpool, shared their experience of getting Reeves onboard.
Miller revealed, "Although we hadn’t collaborated with him before, I had briefly met him. He’s passionate about animation and visited Blur Studios to discuss an unrelated movie." Reeves expressed his enthusiasm for "Love, Death and Robots" and wanted to delve into animation discussions.
"I told him, ‘We’re working on something else. Would you like to be part of it?’ His response was, ‘F**k yeah.’ When I asked if he had a specific role in mind, he simply said, ‘Just put me in, coach.’ So I approached Dave, asking which character Keanu could play, and Dave initially thought I was just messing around about Reeves wanting to join the show."
Wilson recounted his initial confusion when Miller, known for dictating messages into his phone, sent a text saying, "’Hey, do we have anything for piano?’ and I thought, ‘What?’ Then it clicked, and even then, it seemed unbelievable." He added, "Keanu came in quite late when most of the artwork was already done, leaving only a few roles available. I started receiving audition videos from other actors and had to tell Tim, ‘I don’t have any roles left.’"
Yet, there was one significant role that they successfully cast Reeves in, and fans won’t have to wait much longer to see him in action. The series is set to premiere on Prime Video with its first batch of episodes on December 10.
