Keanu Reeves entered talks to play Alan Ritchson’s character in Fast X, but those plans fell through, leaving the role open to Ritchson.
Tell Richson Entertainment Weekly The Fast X casting team initially considered Braves to play Ames, the new head of the agency in Fast X. Those plans fell through, opening the role to Richson.
“It was just a stroke of luck and good timing,” he said. “I was working on a movie with Hilary Swank in Winnipeg in the freezing cold, and I got a call saying things had changed plans with Keanu Reeves, who I think was originally supposed to play me.”
Ritchson admitted that following in Reeves’ footsteps was “tough work”, and briefly thought he might have to drop out due to “timing issues” after “the biggest blizzard in Winnipeg history” brought production to a halt. He added, “Fortunately, we worked on the problem, and they were able to push the appointments back a little more.”
This isn’t the first time Reeves has spoken to Fast series creator Chris Morgan about joining the series. According to reports, they were considering giving him a role in Hobbs & Shaw in 2019, but he didn’t end up getting the part, as Morgan admitted: “The hardest thing is always the time and the competing schedules.”
Fast X is currently in theaters, and our IGN review gave it a 5 out of 10 rating: “Fast X is a disappointing introduction to the series finale, and the only thing that saves it is Jason Momoa’s hilariously insane performance as the villain.”
