Keanu Reeves is one of the premier action stars in Hollywood, so it makes sense that the Fast & Furious franchise would be interested in bringing in the John Wick star. Alan Ritchson, who plays Aimes in Fast X, revealed that Reeves almost played a role in the latest Fast movie.
Who Did Keanu Reeves Almost Play in Fast X?
While speaking with EW, Ritchson explained that when he received the call to play Aimes, the studio first wanted Reeves to star in the same role.
“It was just a little stroke of luck and good timing,” Ritchson explained. “I was working on a movie with Hilary Swank up in Winnipeg in the freezing cold, and I got a call that things had shifted in the plans with Keanu Reeves, which is I think who was originally intended to play my part. Tough act to follow.”
Plans shifted toward Ritchson when Reeves was no longer involved in the film. Even then, “timing issues” almost cost Ritchson the role, but in the Reacher star eventually secured the part.
“Basically the deal was if there’s no problems, we don’t shut down for COVID or weather, this should work, and about two weeks later, we got news that we were going to get hit with the biggest blizzard in Winnipeg’s history,” Ritchson said. “All production shut down. It was disheartening. I thought it was over before it began, but luckily we worked it out and they were able to push the dates a little more … So I’m very grateful that it worked out.”
Ritchson stars as Aimes, the leader of Mr. Nobody’s agency tasked with bringing down Dominic Toretto and his crew. Directed by Louis Leterrier, Fast X opened in theaters on May 19. In its opening weekend, the film made $67.5 million domestically and $251.4M overseas, bringing its global to $319M.