Keanu Reeves Had to Become an 'Asshole' in Cyberpunk 2077 Because He's Too Charming
The fact that Keanu Reeves is a universally beloved star made it quite a challenge for CD Projekt RED to create the character of Johnny Silverhand.
Keanu Reeves is known to almost everyone (and if anyone doesn't know him, regret it). The Canadian star is famous not only for his outstanding acting talent, but also for his extremely friendly character. His gentle disposition and personal charm, however, made the devs at CD Projekt RED quite the problem in creating the character of Johnny Silverhand, who, as we know, is far from being a nice guy.
More light was shed on this complicated process by Pavel Sasko - the game's lead quest designer - at the Game Developers Conference event.
- According to the developer Keanu Reeves has the so-called "star power," so no matter what qualities the character he plays has, players will continue to side with him.
- Thus, the development team, to avoid such a situation, decided to make Silverhand - at least at the beginning of the story - a "real asshole".
"Therefore Johnny Silverhand, when you meet him for the first time in Cyberpunk, he's a real asshole. Because we wanted to make sure we could draw this really big arc, from being a horrible person, to the point where you actually really like this guy, and really understand him," revealed Sasko (via Eurogamer.net).
Who knows, it's possible that in the same way the developers will "deal" with Idris Elba, who will play the role of Solomon Reed in Phantom Liberty, the upcoming DLC for Cyberpunk 2077. The British actor, like Reeves, is also enjoying widespread sympathy from the community.
How will it turn out to be? We will find out on the day of the expansion's release, which should take place this year. The title is headed for PC, PS5 and XSX/S, bypassing the last-gen consoles.
Finally, as a reminder, let's revisit the memorable E3 trade show in 2019 and Keanu Reeves' now iconic "you're breathtaking."
