Actor Keanu Reeves was almost chosen to parody his reputation as an action hero rather than Brad Pitt in the Nee brothers’ recent action-comedy, The Lost City. Speaking with ScreenRant, Adam Nee revealed that it was almost the John Wick star who played The Lost City’s action man Jack Trainer, but due to the actor’s commitments to the assassin saga, it was ultimately Brad Pitt who was chosen for the hilarious role.
“I think we thought it was gonna be Keanu Reeves initially, but he was was tied up with John Wick and that’s where we were like, ‘Brad was always our first choice,’ but we didn’t think it was gonna happen. Then [Sandra] did Bullet Train and it came together. And I love Keanu, he would’ve been fun too.”
The Lost City follows Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) and Alan Caprison (Channing Tatum), a novelist and her cover model respectively, who must escape a billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) and find the lost ancient city depicted in one of her books. Partway through the movie, Alan turns to a man named Jack Trainer to help him rescue Loretta from the jungle. A former Navy SEAL turned CIA operative, Jack Trainer is played wonderfully by Brad Pitt, who enters the fray as the sort of unstoppable action man, before leaving the story in an unexpected, deadly way.
According to Adam Nee, Brad Pitt was always their first choice, though they never thought it would happen. With this in mind, they turned to fellow A-lister and action hero Keanu Reeves instead, who surely would have been just as great in the role, and would no doubt have a brought a different energy to Jack Trainer, mocking his persona as John WickNeo, and so many other big-screen heroes.
The Nee Brothers Will Next Turn Their Attention to Masters of the Universe
Adam and Aaron Nee will next turn their attention to adapting the beloved property Masters of the Universe for Netflix. Starring Kyle Allen as He-Man, Masters of the Universe will tell the origin story of the 80s fantasy hero while taking inspiration from the vibrant Marvel outing Thor: Ragnarok. “I think it’s the fun aspect, you know? I’ve heard from some fans that their dream [for Masters of the Universe] would sort of be like Lord of the Rings, but you can’t have characters like Snout Spout in Lord of the Rings!” Adam Nee explained recently. “So I think that we are maybe more in the Thor: Ragnarok kind of tone where it’s a huge adventure film, but we have fun and there’s a good amount of reverence in there as well.”
Masters of the Universe does not yet have a release date, but Adam Nee has now revealed some insight into when production will begin. “It’s coming along great, it’ll be next year,” the filmmaker said. “Coming right off of Lost City was too tight, it’s such a huge beast of a movie that it needs real prep time. So we’re working on it now and working towards it starting next spring.”
Masters of the Universe will land on Netflix sometime in the near(ish) future. The Lost City landed in theaters on March 25, 2022, and will become available to stream on Paramount+ on May 10, 2022.
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