In what was easily one of the biggest surprises at this year's E3, CD Projekt RED revealed its upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 would star actor Keanu Reeves as a main character. While the reception upon Reeves' reveal as well as his presentation on-stage during Xbox's E3 press conference was astronomical, the process of keeping the actor's appearance from being rumored or leaked proved to be just as impressive.
It turns out the idea for Reeves to appear during the Cyberpunk 2077 segment of the conference was CD Projekt RED's. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer admitted there was skepticism at first, given there have been times in the past where celebrity appearances at E3 haven't worked out as planned. However, thanks to some clever planning by Xbox and CD Projekt RED, both parties were able to keep the best kept secret of E3 under wraps until it actually happened.
In an interview with Variety, Spencer mentioned that Reeves didn't arrive at the Microsoft Theater until the morning of the conference. To make sure as few people as possible would know Xbox's actual plans, there was a stand-in for Reeves during rehearsals, with a codename given for the actor so as to not tip off any suspicions. Reeves was placed in a green room adjacent to Spencer backstage, and sat with the Cyberpunk 2077 development team, who showed him a build of the game before he made his appearance. Given the hype surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, coupled with the ambitions of its developer, Spencer tried to make sure Reeves was prepared for the reception he was about to receive.
"I said, 'You're going to go out there and the fans are going to go crazy.' And he (Reeves) was like, 'Oh, that's cool.'"
Clearly the appearance of Keanu Reeves was a shocked to everyone watching from home, those in attendance, and Reeves himself. It was certainly one of our favorite moments from E3 this year, and even prompted an attendee to tell Reeves he's "Breathtaking" while on stage. Reeves of course soaked in the moment with everyone in the building, before he capped off his appearance by helping announce Cyberpunk 2077's release date.
As far as his in-game involvement is concerned, Reeves plays character Johnny Silverhand, a legendary rockstar of Night City, the game's massive metropolis. Silverhand holds a grudge against the Arasaka corporation, who he blames for the loss of his arm. Given the shady tone of Night City portrayed both in trailers and the gameplay demo for Cyberpunk 2077 last summer, Silverhand's backstory fits perfectly with the game's lore. To what capacity players will get to work alongside Reeves' character, however, is yet to be determined, and likely won't be known until the game releases next year.
Cyberpunk 2077 will release on April 16th, 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Variety