After challenging the High Table in John Wick: Chapter 4, Keanu Reeves will take a left at Albuquerque to join Jonah Hill for a dark comedy film. Apple Original Films acquired the rights to Outcome, a sinister comedy Hill will direct and co-write with Ezra Woods. Reeves is in negotiations to star alongside Hill in the new project.
According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s exclusive, Hill’s Outcome stars Reeves as Reef, “a damaged Hollywood star who must dive into the dark depths of his past to confront his demons and make amends after he is extorted with a mysterious video clip from his past.”
In addition to directing, starring, and co-writing Outcome, Hill will also produce the film with Matt Dines, his partner at Strong Baby. Hill recently starred alongside Eddie Murphy and Lauren London in You People, a side-splitting comedy about modern love and family dynamics encountering a culture clash with lasting repercussions. Hill came out swinging as a director in 2018 with the comedic drama Mid90s. He’s shot multiple music videos, an episode of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and Stutz, a documentary about Hill and his therapist talking candidly about mental health and anxiety attacks.
The deal for Outcome finds Apple Original Films swiping the project out from under several bidders. The package being in hot contention speaks to how eager studios are to secure the rights to projects featuring Hollywood’s star players. The deal is also desirable because both Reeves and Hill are enjoying a boost to their respective careers. Reeves is Hollywood’s most admirable human wrecking machine, and Hill is proving himself to be a jack of many trades across acting, directing, and producing. It’s wild to think the actors who played Theodore “Ted” Logan (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure) and Seth (Superbad) have come so far.
Hill is finding plenty of work at Apple Original Films. In addition to Outcome, he’s developing a Grateful Dead biopic with Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, with Scorsese in the director’s chair. Hill stars in the biopic and will again produce with Dines.
What do you think about Reeves and Hill teaming up for a dark comedy at Apple Original Films? Will Reeves show Hill some slick martial arts moves between takes? I bet he will.