Keanu Reeves Finds His Next Action Franchise, and It’s Not Another ‘John Wick’ Sequel

Keanu Reeves has spent the better part of two decades turning himself into cinema’s most reliable action hero, with the ‘John Wick’ franchise alone grossing hundreds of millions of dollars across four films. As fans continue waiting for whatever comes next in that world, Reeves has quietly been building out a much broader slate of projects spanning animation, science fiction, and now an entirely new literary universe.

That growing slate now includes several high-profile efforts, from voicing the lead in Masashi Kawamura’s stop-motion thriller ‘Hidari’ to filming Tim Miller’s upcoming sci-fi project ‘Shiver’ and returning as Shadow in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 4.’ Amid all that activity, Reeves has just locked in what may be his most significant new venture yet.

The Arena has preemptively acquired the rights to adapt Oliver Lowe’s upcoming novel ‘Kill Current: A Jon Hendricks Thriller,‘ with Reeves set to star as the title character, a burned-out CIA officer who gets pulled back into the field to avenge the protégé he trained and lost.

‘Kill Current’ marks the first book in a planned thriller series centered on Jon Hendricks, with the novel itself not even hitting shelves until Zando publishes it in May 2027. That timeline means the film adaptation is moving forward well ahead of the source material’s actual release, a sign of just how confident everyone involved feels about the project’s potential.

According to its official logline, the story unfolds as a globe-spanning, high-stakes action thriller centered on shifting alliances and a race for the world’s most valuable assets, weaving in contemporary issues like semiconductors, global supply chains, and technological warfare into its central plot.

Beyond starring in the film, Reeves is producing the project alongside Alexandra Grant through Two Dragonflies, a previously unannounced production banner the two founded together to develop stories across film, television, animation, comics, games, and literature. ‘Kill Current’ marks the very first project to emerge from that new company.

Reeves expressed genuine excitement about the opportunity in comments shared with Deadline, saying he’s grateful for the chance to develop the character alongside his collaborators and that this project marks the launch of Two Dragonflies, the company he shares with Grant. That framing suggests Reeves views ‘Kill Current’ as more than just another acting gig, positioning it as the foundation for a broader creative venture going forward.

The film is being financed and produced by The Arena, the independent studio launched by former Lionsgate film chief Erik Feig, with Zando founder and CEO Molly Stern serving as an executive producer alongside her publishing company. Stern has described Lowe’s story as a modern reinvention of the geopolitical thriller genre, one built around the kinds of global tensions and technological anxieties defining the current moment.

That combination of talent, a major independent studio, a rising literary voice in Lowe, and one of action cinema’s most bankable stars, suggests Reeves and his collaborators are aiming to build something with real franchise potential from the ground up, rather than simply adapting an already-established property.

With ‘Kill Current’ now added to an already packed lineup of upcoming projects, Reeves shows no signs of slowing down as he continues diversifying beyond the world of ‘John Wick.’ Whether Jon Hendricks becomes his next defining on-screen character remains to be seen, but the ambition behind this new venture is already clear.

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