Keanu Reeves is preparing to return to comedy for his upcoming movie, Outcome. He has rejuvenated his career by defining himself as an action hero, after spending his early years as a genre-hopping star. Today, Reeves’ best movies generally all involve his unique gun-fu fighting style. Now, he is planning to return to more humorous productions, starting with his new movie, Good Fortune, directed by Aziz Ansari. Following that is Outcome, which is directed and stars Jonah Hill, alongside Cameron Diaz (Being John Malkovich), Matt Bomer (Chuck), Roy Wood Jr. (Love, Brooklyn), and more.

<

In an interview with Screen Rant at the Sundance Film Festival, Wood Jr. opened up about Reeves’ next role, praising his performance as a return to his traditional comedic style. In particular, he emphasized that the action star does not do “one karate punch in the whole film.” Wood Jr. did not say much more, due to Apple’s spoiler rules, but what he did reveal is insightful. Check out his quote below:

I spoke with Jonah Hill, who’s directing and starring in Outcome, and I know they were still finishing up, just a couple of tweaks on the edit. I feel like it should be this year. I’m not going to speak out of turn, because I don’t want to get in trouble with Apple. [Chuckles] But I can say that it is an extremely funny film, but to see Keanu Reeves, I don’t think he does one karate punch in the whole film. Yeah, proper comedic Keanu Reeves is back. I can’t say too much about my character, other than imagine if Deion Sanders was a civil rights lawyer. Whatever you envision, that’s who I am in Outcome, which is totally different for me in Love, Brooklyn.

What Reeves’ Return To Comedy Means

Reeves Is Not Sticking Solely With Action

Neo (Keanu Reeves) stops bullets in The Matrix Reloaded Alex Winter as Bill and Keanu Reeves as Ted on stage and cheering in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Keanu Reeves standing solemnly as John Wick in John Wick Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) and Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) sit on the beach in Point Break (1984). Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock driving the bus in Speed

Despite being better known for his action movies, Reeves has a history with comedy movies, including Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988), and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Each of these movies focused on humor more often than not. At the time, Reeves was known for claiming roles in every genre, including sports drama, romance, and even the occasional action. It was not until 1999’s The Matrix defined Reeves’ career that he truly became known for his action movies, which solidified his career ever since.

Recent years have seen Reeves exploring different genres to avoid being pinned to just action. He starred in the romantic comedy Destination Wedding (2018), the family-friendly Toy Story 4 (2019), Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020), DC League of Super-Pets (2022), and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024). Each one focuses on comedy, though many also feature action. Outcome is unique in that there may not be any action component at all, but even that is not wholly different from Destination Wedding. The issue for Outcome is that Reeves has always tried to maintain a presence on the lighter side of movie genres.

Our Take On Reeves’ Return To Comedy

He Will Not Just Be Typecasted

Keanu Reeves pointing a gun in the mirror maze in John Wick Chapter 2

Even despite appearing in other comedies, a return to dark humor is always exciting. Outcome will focus on Reeves’ Reef Hawk, a Hollywood star working to come to terms with a dark past after suffering extortion. The star is known for his role as John Wick, a character who faced similar stakes but did not take the issue to a court as Reef Hawk likely will. Outcome could easily reveal more about Reeves’ acting style, and it will be a refreshing change of pace. Thus, he won’t be typecasted for too long, and this will provide some relief.