Keanu Reeves’ Best John Wick Sequel Becomes a Prime Video Hit After Netflix Casting News

What do you do when you lose access to one of the action genre's biggest stars? You replace them with Keanu Reeves, of course. That is exactly what Netflix has done, according to recent reports, as the John Wick icon takes over from Reacher's Alan Ritchson in Netflix's upcoming action thriller, Maelstrom. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the film is sure to be a big blockbuster hit for the streamer, as Reeves takes on the role of "a Federal Marshall tasked with guarding the fiancée of an arms dealer who’s seeking witness protection as she preps to testify against him."

But this is no normal mission for Reeves' Federal Marshall, as the events of this tense actioner take place across one night and in the midst of a terrifying hurricane. But this should be light work for a man who has been part of some of the most brutal action sequences of this century. His longest mission as the iconic John Wick, and therefore the toughest, was in John Wick: Chapter 4, which clocked in at a whopping 169 minutes (2 hours and 49 minutes) including credits.

But this length clearly paid off financially, with Chapter 4 also becoming the highest-grossing movie in the franchise. Against a reported production budget of $100 million, the film returned a global haul of $447 million, becoming the 16th highest-grossing 2023 title worldwide in the process. Collider's Ross Bonaime was a fan, calling it "a goofy, ridiculous, three hours of fun that manages to not overstay its welcome" in his official review. Three years later, the film is a hit again. At the time of writing, John Wick: Chapter 4 is one of the ten most-watched movies on Prime Video in the U.S.

Keanu Reeves Featured in One of the Year's Biggest Box Office Hits

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Reeves is never far from a box office smash. Just like John Wick: Chapter 4, the actor was part of a theatrical hit once again earlier this year, although not in physical form. Reeves reprised the role of Duke Caboom in Pixar's Toy Story 5, which followed in the footsteps of previous franchise entries and earned more than a billion dollars at the box office. Reeves will return to a big-budget animated franchise on March 19, 2027, as part of director Jeff Fowler's Sonic the Hedgehog 4.