Keanu starring as Johnny Silverhand made him a more complex and relatable character than in the Cyberpunk 2020 board game.
To make a particular gross pun, Johnny Silverhand was always a little two-dimensional in the tabletop game. The lead singer for the rock group Samurai, Johnny basically beefs it in a failed assault on a corporate HQ. His most notable features were being pretty and having a cybernetic left arm. That and being really good at dying.
So it came as some surprise that Johnny appeared in the 2019 E3 trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. Rumors say that Johnny will play a pivotal role in the game’s plot, with the trailer implying that he’s actually dead and what you’re seeing is a holographic ghost, or perhaps an augmented reality image being sent directly to your optic nerve.
We also found out in that same trailer that Johnny would be played by Hollywood movie star and lovable internet meme, Keanu Reeves.
How did CDPR manage to snag one of the biggest names in Hollywood to be in their game? We have no idea. But we do know that CDPR had Keanu in their sights early on, thanks to a recent interview between story director Marcin Blacha and The Official Xbox Magazine.
In their September issue, the publication does a full spread on Cyberpunk 2077, including a larger piece where Blacha talks about how they picked Keanu to be their leading man.
"When we thought of an actor for this role, we didn’t approach it on a ‘who’s the biggest celebrity now’ basis—the actor had to have a connection with the character, so it made sense,” Blacha said. “Cyberpunk 2077 is not a game about Keanu Reeves, it’s a game about Johnny who is played by Keanu."
Mr. Reeves also brought more than just his rugged good looks to the role. He also gave Johnny an added complexity that the character had always lacked. "A good actor, and Keanu is a great actor, will always infuse their character with a bit of their own special thing,” Blach added. “I think, thanks to Keanu, Johnny is more relatable and complex, but at the same time has not lost any of his original rebelliousness and punch."
You’ll be able to read the full interview in Xbox Magazine’s September issue, available for pre-order now. Cyberpunk 2077 releases everywhere on April 16th, 2020.
(via wccftech)