Keanu Reeves Wants Back As Johnny Silverhand — Cyberpunk Creator Teases The Comeback Plan

Keanu Reeves wants back in as Johnny Silverhand, and the guy who created Cyberpunk just opened the door. Yes, Johnny is technically super dead. No, that isn’t stopping anyone from trying to figure it out.

So, what happened?

On a stream hosted by CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk’s tabletop creator Mike Pondsmith spent some time praising the game’s A-list casting and made it crystal clear he’s into the idea of Keanu returning. He’s seen the chatter about Reeves wanting to suit up as Johnny again, and he didn’t shy away from the challenge.

"I have ways to do that, Keanu, contact me."

That’s Pondsmith. Straight to the point, and very much not ruling anything out.

But Johnny is... dead. Like, decades dead.

That’s the snag. In the Cyberpunk 2077 timeline, Silverhand is long gone before the events of the first game, and the endings players can get make his ultimate status even fuzzier. One possible workaround: Johnny could exist as an AI somewhere beyond the Blackwall. That’s plausible, but it would mean picking a canon path out of a story that previously let players decide how it ends. Also, if you’re wondering whether they’d repeat the whole brain-hijacking relic chip thing from 2077, it sounds like the plan would be something new rather than the same trick twice.

• Pondsmith says he has a way to bring Johnny back, and he wants Keanu to call him.
• Johnny’s death and the multiple 2077 endings complicate any return.
• An AI route is on the table, but it risks locking in a single canon ending.
• If Johnny does return, it likely won’t be via another parasitic chip ride-along.

Why Pondsmith sounds confident

He’s clearly proud of how the franchise has used big-name actors. He pointed out that Reeves and Idris Elba weren’t just celebrity cameos; they fit the roles and took them seriously enough to disappear into the characters. He even joked about bringing in Scarlett Johansson next, which, sure, why not shoot your shot on a live stream.

What this means for Cyberpunk 2

Cyberpunk 2 is in development, and Pondsmith’s open invite makes it feel very possible that Johnny could factor into the next chapter in some new form. On top of that, CD Projekt Red is hiring for roles focused on building high-performance online features and improving multiplayer systems, which strongly suggests the sequel will lean harder into online play.

Bottom line: Keanu wants back, the creator has a pitch, and the sequel is shaping up to be bigger and more connected. If they can thread the needle on Johnny’s return without stomping on player choice, I’m in.