Fast X went through many changes from its conception to release, and it seems one of those changes was the plan to have Keanu Reeves playing the role of Aimes, one of the movie’s villains that ended up going to Reacher star Alan Ritchson. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly to promote the latest instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Ritchson revealed that Reeves was originally in negotiations for the role, but as things changed, Reeves was out and Ritchson was in. He said:
"It was just a little stroke of luck and good timing. 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."
Reeves has been on the verge of joining the Fast and Furious series before. Writer Chris Morgan previously revealed that the John Wick actor was also on the card to have part in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, when he was in talks to provide the voice behind the Eteon organization. While it may be that Reeves’ schedule and other events conspire to keep him out of the Fast Saga, it is unlikely that will be of detriment to either the actor or the franchise, as both are very much doing very well on their own without each other. However, seeing Keanu Reeves showing up in one of the remaining movies is not something anyone would say no to.
Fast X is Already a Box Office Winner.
There are very few movies that have guaranteed box office success now, but even before Fast X was released last weekend it seemed certain that the movie was going to be an early summer smash. Having blown away opening weekend expectations, the film’s second weekend is going to be hampered slightly by the arrival of Disney’s big gun, The Little Mermaid.
Although the audiences of the two movies couldn’t be more different, The Little Mermaid will dominate cinemas this weekend and that could see a drop in footfall for all other movies already out there. It will be therefore be interesting to see just how much of a tumble Fast X takes compared to the the second weekend dip of movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
At the moment, Fast X seems certain to end its cinematic run as one of the top movies of the year in terms of worldwide box office gross, something that has been hugely helped along by a strong show of support from China, which has been lacking in many movies such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania earlier in the year. There are still many more hits to be released this summer, and while Fast X will almost certainly end the year as one of the Top Ten highest grossing movies of 2023, exactly how high up that list it remains is something that will only be seen in time.