Keanu Reeves wants to come back. He loved his time as Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077, a sequel is officially in development, and would like to return for another collaboration with CDPR. Considering Cyberpunk 2077's own story, you might think this means a different role. In fact, the person Reeves always has his eye on is Silverhand himself.
Now Keanu has a big ally in Mike Pondsmith, the legendary creator of the best-selling tabletop game, who CD Projekt Red has to thank for building the Cyberpunk setting in the first place.
In a 'REDstreams Special' on October 30, CD Projekt Red's Amelia Korzycka and Laura Beitzel teamed up to interview Pondsmith. He spent a significant amount of time discussing his inspiration for the Cyberpunk series and sharing ample praise for what the Polish video game developer brought to the table with Cyberpunk 2077.
Pondsmith also had many positive thoughts about 2077's notable celebrity voice actors. “The nicest man on Earth is doing something incredibly stupid,” he declares, visibly gleeful about Reeves’ tenure at Silverhand. As for casting, rather than simply asking Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba to voice the main characters in the video game, suffice it to say Pondsmith commented on how well it all went down.
He's also well aware of Reeves' enthusiasm for Johnny Silverhand's potential return. As GamesRadar points out, creators are also eager. Pondsmith recalls: “I saw it a while ago. [Keanu Reeves] I want to find a way to come back from the dead and play Johnny again.” After a moment, he looks almost directly at the camera and says, “I have a way to do it, Keanu. Please contact me.”
I recommend watching the entire interview because the host does a great job of getting Mike Pondsmith to open up about all sorts of issues. Not that he's ever been one to shy away from good conversation, but even with separate teams working on different projects, who knows how long it will be before Cyberpunk 2 (which will probably have a stronger actual title) graces the gaming scene.
