Prime Video’s upcoming video game anthology series Secret Level looks pretty damn awesome, and one episode that I’m super stoked about it is Keanu Reeves’ “Armored Core” story.
During an interview with GamesRadar+, series creator Tim Miller and executive producer Dave Wilson talked about how they got Reeves to sign on for the project, and it wasn’t that hard due to the actor being a fan of their Netflix show Love, Death and Robots.
Miller said: “We haven’t worked with him before, although I’d met him briefly. He is a huge animation fan, and he came down to Blur [Studios] to talk to me about a movie, another movie entirely and said, ‘What I really want to talk about is Love, Death and Robots. Can you tell me all about it? I love animation.’
“I said, ‘Well, we’re doing this other thing. Would you want to be in it?’ And he said, ‘F*ck yeah.’ I said, ‘Do you have anything in particular you want to play?’ And he’s like, ‘No, just put me in coach,’ essentially.
“So, I asked Dave, ‘If you were to cast Keanu Reeves in the show, what character would he be?’ and at first, Dave thought I was joking that Keanu Reeves wanted to be in the show.”
Wilson then shared his side of the story, saying: “[Miller] dictates into his phone, like that character from Hacks, and so you get these weird messages that don’t quite make sense.
“I got this text, ‘Hey, do we have anything for piano?’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ And then I realized and then, yes, I didn’t believe it.”
Miller then sent a video of Reeves at the studio to prove that what he was telling him was true.
Wilson added: “Keanu actually came on, it was quite late in the series, and we had all the artwork up on the walls. So there weren’t that many episodes left to cast, and so then I would start getting videos from other actors, and I’m like, ‘Tim, I don’t have any roles left.'”
When talking about what it was like working with Reeves, Wilson said: “You hear all the stories of how wonderful Keanu is, but often, it’s just a hype machine. And I can tell you without any exaggeration, he is the nicest person to work with.
“I mean, we only shoot for a day or two usually, but he shows up, prepped, ready to go. I think he shot for 13 hours straight. He’s just a fabulous human being.”
Armored Core is described as follows: “The defining mech combat series reimagined. In a frostbitten frontier world, a legendary mech pilot learns his latest mission might hold the key to the demons that have haunted him for decades.”
The series features original short stories that are set within the worlds of some of the most beloved video games. It comes from Amazon MGM Studios and Blur Studio, and it includes 15 mind-bending episodes and groundbreaking animation.
Each episode of Secret Level serves as “a gateway to a new adventure, unlocking exciting worlds from beloved gaming classics and highly anticipated new titles.
“Prepare for an unforgettable journey, where Amazon MGM Studios and gaming’s finest unite in a first-of-its-kind event that brings together more game IP in a single series than has ever been done before.”
Here is the list of games that inspired the 15 epic stories found in the series: Armored Core, Concord, Crossfire, Dungeons & Dragons, Exodus, Honor of Kings, Mega Man, New World: Aeternum, PAC-MAN, PlayStation (Highlighting various PlayStation Studios beloved entities), Sifu, Spelunky, The Outer Worlds, Unreal Tournament, and Warhammer 40,000.
The voice cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Kevin Hart (Jumanji), Keanu Reeves (John Wick), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us, Terminator: Dark Fate), Temuera Morrison (The Book of Boba Fett, Chief of War) and Ariana Greenblatt (Barbie).
Other members of the cast include Patrick Schwarzenegger (The White Lotus), Heaven Hart, Emily Swallow (The Mandalorian), Ricky Whittle (American Gods, Land of Bad), Merle Dandridge (The Last of Us), Claudia Doumit (The Boys), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, The Union), Clive Standen (Vikings, The Morning Show), Laura Bailey (The Legend of Vox Machina), and Michael Beach (Tulsa King).
Secret Level will be available exclusively on Prime Video on December 10.
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