Speaking publicly about being passed over for high-profile roles would usually be seen as career suicide for a Hollywood A-lister. Not so Keanu Reeves, who has followed up last week’s complaint about his lack of recent major studio offers by lamenting his failure to secure juicy roles as Batman and Wolverine on the big screen.
Talking to Moviefone, Reeves said the chance to portray either superhero would have fulfilled a lifelong ambition.
“I always wanted to play Wolverine,” he said. “But I didn’t get that. And they have a great Wolverine now.”
He added:
“I always wanted to play The Dark Knight [too]. But I didn’t get that one. They’ve had some great Batmans. So now I’m just enjoying them as an audience.”
Wolverine is currently portrayed by Hugh Jackman, who has essayed the role in seven films stretching back to 2000’s X-Men. Ben Affleck recently took over from Christian Bale as the caped crusader for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Keanu Reeves in John Wick. Photograph: David Lee/AP
Reeves’ comments last week about his lack of offers have been credited with inspiring an outpouring of social media support that fed into US box office success for his well-reviewed new action movie John Wick at the weekend. The hitman thriller opened at No 2 with $14.2m, about 50% above expectations.
It remains to be seen whether Reeves’ lamentation on his failure to secure a high profile superhero gig further excites public passion for the much-loved Canadian actor – and potentially turns the heads of movie executives. The star of The Matrix trilogy and Point Break has been tipped to play Doctor Strange in Marvel’s forthcoming film about the mystical comic book defender of Earth, and the success of John Wick after a period of several high-profile box office bombs might just lend him a newfound currency with the studios.
