Nobody saw it coming when Keanu Reeves popped up in an animated short for Armored Core, and it seems even Secret Level’s executive producer was caught off guard.
Spotting Reeves in the initial Secret Level trailer was a jolt. Sure, he’s made his mark in Cyberpunk 2077, but still—a surprise for a project like an Armored Core animation. Executive producer Dave Wilson initially thought it was a prank when asked about casting Reeves. During a chat with GamesRadar, he and creator Tim Miller, who also directed Deadpool, shared insights into bringing Reeves on board.
"I hadn’t collaborated with him before, although we had briefly crossed paths," Miller recounted. "He’s a big animation enthusiast and once came to Blur Studios to discuss a completely different movie. Yet, he veered off, saying, ‘Let’s talk Love, Death & Robots. I’m a huge fan of animation.’"
I responded, “We’re working on another project. Want to join?” and he replied with an enthusiastic, “F**k yeah.” I then asked if he had a specific role in mind, and he basically said, ‘Just get me in,’” Miller laughed. So, I approached Dave, asking if we had a part for Keanu, and at first, he thought I was pulling his leg about Reeves wanting in on the show."
Wilson remembered things a bit differently, initially baffled by a text sent from Miller’s voice-to-text feature. "I got this odd message asking, ‘Hey, do we have anything for piano?’ I was confused until I realized he meant Keanu. I genuinely couldn’t believe it,” Wilson recounted. "Keanu joined quite late in the production, with most of the artwork already completed. I’d start getting video tapes from other actors, and I kept telling Tim, ‘We’re out of roles!’"
Yet, there was still one major role left, perfectly suited for Reeves. With the series set to debut on Prime Video next week on December 10, it won’t be long before we can see how Reeves fits into this new venture.
