Keanu Reeves in Talks to Star in Ruben Östlund's Airplane Disaster Movie ‘The Entertainment System Is Down' (EXCLUSIVE)

Keanu Reeves in Talks to Star in Ruben Östlund’s Airplane Disaster Movie ‘The Entertainment System Is Down’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund’s highly anticipated next feature “The Entertainment System Is Down,” Variety has learned.

While the exact plot of the movie remains under wraps, Östlund has teased it several times as a social satire set on a long-haul flight on which the entertainment system isn’t working, sparking chaos and rages among passengers. The Swedish director has been collecting anecdotes for the last few years for the movie and recently finalized the script. The exact role that Reeves would have in the film is unknown, but it will likely involve wicked humor in line with Östlund’s brand of black comedy.

Reeves will be part of the ensemble cast comprising several international stars. The movie will mark Östlund’s follow up to “Triangle of Sadness,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival in 2022. “The Entertainment System Is Down” will be Östlund’s most ambitious film to date – even more so than “Triangle of Sadness,” his English-language debut which boasted a big cast including Woody Harrelson and Harris Dickinson, as well as exotic locations.

Speaking about the project last year, Östlund told Variety the film will be “a study of how human beings interact in this little laboratory that is a plane” and “will look at how modern human beings are wrecked under these circumstances.” He added that he hopes it will cause the biggest walkout in the history of Cannes Film Festival.

Östlund is producing “The Entertainment System Is Down” with Erik Hemmendorff through their banner Plattform Produktion based in Goteborg, Sweden, while Philippe Bober’s Coproduction Office is co-producing and will handle international sales on the movie.

Reeves’ upcoming slate includes “Ballerina,” the spinoff to Lionsgate’s “John Wick” franchise in which he stars opposite Ana de Armas. The trailer for the movie was presented at CinemaCon earlier this month.

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