Keanu Reeves Admits The Blockbuster Movie Offers Have Dried Up: ‘It Sucks’

Keanu Reeves has had one of the most rollercoaster careers in Hollywood, from The Matrix to last year’s 47 Ronin, which holds the honour of being the second most expensive box office bomb ever. So what does the man himself make of his up and down back catalogue?

Promoting his new action drama John Wick, Keanu has been pretty philosophical in interviews about his Hollywood past. While John Wick, which stars Reeves as a retired hit men seeking revenge for his murdered dog (yes really), has been notching up some pretty decent reviews, the actor admits his flops has had a huge effect on what offers drop through his door.

“The last studio movie I did was 47 Ronin,” explains Keanu to IndieWire of the 2013 movie which lost Universal $152 million at the box office, “but before that it had been a long time — probably The Day the Earth Stood Still. So I haven’t been getting many offers from the studios.”

When asked if he was OK with that, Keanu was matter-of-fact: “No, it sucks, but it’s just the way it is. You can have positive and negative experiences, but what I like about studios are the resources and the worlds that they can create,” he says. “Obviously, a lot of good filmmakers work on studio movies. Even when I was working on studio movies more often, I was always doing independent movies. So for me, that was just not happening, but I want to keep going, making things, and telling stories. I want to be able to do that — to be an actor, a director, to produce, you know? If we’re going to do a delineation between studio and independent [films], I was always hoping to do both.”

Keanu in John Wicks

The comments come at the same time as Keanu’s interview with Moviefone where he talks about missing out on major blockbuster roles in Marvel and DC movies, roles that went to rival actors of his generation. “I always wanted to play Wolverine. But I didn’t get that. And they have a great Wolverine now”, he says of Hugh Jackman’s success. “I always wanted to play The Dark Knight. But I didn’t get that one. They’ve had some great Batmans. So now I’m just enjoying them as an audience.”

Keanu is looking on the bright side though as he reckons he’s simply swum against the tide of generic action movies. “If we’re talking about the science fiction or action genres, I’ve always tried when I could to do them in a way that’s not just cookie-cutter — that they bring something fresh or original to it, have some kind of ideas to it. I’ve been fortunate, in some sense, to do those kinds of movies that are unique,” he adds to IW.

And that strategy seems to be working with John Wick which is building up some decent reviews for it’s elegant visuals and Keanu’s star turn which Forbes’ declares “puts the would-be “Let’s make a Marvel-style expanded universe” copycats to shame.”

John Wick opens in the UK In January. Check out the trailer below and look out for the genius moment when Keanu declares: “People keep asking if I’m back, yeah I’m thinking I’m back.”