Hollywood's newest blockbuster Hobbs & Shaw quickly raced to the top of the box office following its release on the weekend, knocking Jon Favreau's The Lion King off the No.1 spot.
The film, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham, is a spin-off from Fast & Furious and its events are placed outside of the series. While Johnson and Statham are two of the industry's biggest names, they could have had another join them in the form of John Wick star Keanu Reeves.
According to director David Leitch, there were talks with Reeves initially but he realized that he really didn't need him in there.
"It all stemmed from the fact that we had talked to Keanu early on," Leitch told The Hollywood Reporter. It was even before where we ended up with this draft. I had been talking to Keanu periodically through the shooting of it all and looking for opportunities of where it could be."
"I also wanted to make sure that it was enough — a real promise for something legitimate in the future — and wasn’t just a stunt casting role. We started to populate the movie with all these other personalities, and I just didn’t really think that we needed it, although I would’ve loved it.
Leitch says they also spoke after things were all laid out and explored the possibilities of adding Reeves but didn't want to force him in there.
Bringing in big-name stars for cameo appearances don't exactly have a great reputation among fans so, despite the temptation, it was decided that Hobbs & Shaw would go on sans Reeves.
"We even talked in post, and I showed him a rough cut of the movie," Leitch explained. "Then, we had conversations about ‘is there something here?’ We came to the conclusion of ‘let’s put a pin in it.’ I’m all for finding opportunities, but I also didn't want to force anything."