Keanu Reeves could be joining James Wan’s next feature. The actor is negotiating for a role in Paramount Pictures’ The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, with Don Lee returning from the 2019 original. The Hollywood Reporter broke the casting news; Variety and Deadline also reported the talks.
The distinction matters: this is a negotiation, rather than a completed casting announcement. Deadline reports that Reeves’ character and the particulars of Wan’s version remain undisclosed. What is taking shape is a pairing between the John Wick actor and a returning performer whose character anchors the source film’s uneasy alliance.
An Alliance Built on Distrust
The original revolves around a detective and a crime boss pursuing the same serial killer. Neither side has much reason to trust the other, and their different interests complicate the partnership. The Hollywood Reporter describes a story driven by competing agendas and deception, with conflict extending beyond the central hunt.
Lee is due to play the crime boss again, Deadline reports. That gives the remake a direct connection to its predecessor, rather than an entirely new cast interpreting the material. It also leaves an important question open: the reports do not identify which part Reeves would take.
Lee Won-tae wrote and directed the original, which played the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. Wan’s project returns to that premise, though the available reporting does not spell out how the new screenplay will alter its characters or story.
Wan Returns to Features
Wan’s previous feature as director was Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in 2023. According to Variety, the remake has been developing since 2019, and Wan became involved this spring. Deadline places Paramount’s announcement of his appointment in March.
Eric Pearson has written the current screenplay, following work on earlier drafts by Brian Helgeland and Shay Hatten. Helgeland is also an executive producer, alongside Billy Acumen. The writing credits point to a project that has passed through several hands before reaching this casting stage.
The Team Behind the Remake
Producing duties span several companies. Wan, Michael Clear and Jason Blum are involved through Blumhouse Atomic Monster; Lee is producing through Big Punch Global. Sylvester Stallone and D. Matt Geller represent Balboa Productions, while Chris S. Lee is involved through B&C Group. The trade reports also name Lorenzo di Bonaventura as a producer.
For now, Reeves’ potential involvement is the development to watch. The reporting establishes his talks, Lee’s return and Wan’s directing role, while leaving Reeves’ character and the details of the reimagining unresolved. Until those emerge, the clearest promise is the combination of this cast, filmmaker and distrust-driven premise.
Reporting sources: Variety, “Keanu Reeves in Talks to Star in James Wan’s ‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ at Paramount” · Deadline, “Keanu Reeves Circling James Wan’s ‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ At Paramount” · The Hollywood Reporter, “Keanu Reeves in Talks to Star in James Wan’s ‘The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil’ (Exclusive)”.