Keanu Reeves and Speed writer Graham Yost didn’t sign on for the 1997 sequel but both fared much better than Sandra Bullock.
We’ve seen Keanu Reeves dodge bullets as Neo and John Wick, but his smartest “bullet time” came with Speed 2. If you’re thinking, Keanu Reeves wasn’t in the Speed sequel, then you’ve found the point.
Like Keanu Reeves, Speed screenwriter Graham Yost had nothing to do with the 1997 sequel, Cruise Control. While Sandra Bullock returned as Annie Porter, Reeves apparently hated the script, which wasn’t written by Yost, who has maintained that he wasn’t part of the process (despite working on ideas that would ultimately never be written). The movie would open at #1 but still quickly fall below 50 mph, taking in under $50 million domestically on a reported $160 million budget.
Recalling that troubling release for Bullock and the moment of relief for Reeves and himself, Yost (who probably doesn’t get enough credit for helping change the ‘90s action game) said, “That’s hard to shake off for Sandra Bullock. Keanu and I both feel, ‘Man, we really dodged a bullet on that one.’ I used to say that I was not invited to a party I didn’t want to go to.” To her credit, Bullock knows just how bad Speed 2 is, saying it remains an embarrassment for her.
With Speed 2 flopping and the star power sinking (with respect to Jason Patric), that put an end to any potential franchise. But there was so much potential from the start for it to become a full-fledged one, the stakes being upped and more over-the-top as the series progressed (remember, the Fast & Furious gang went from stealing TV/VHS combos to going to outer space).
But that doesn’t mean there’s no longer a future for Speed, as both Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock have expressed interest in working together again, with Reeves saying, “We’d freakin’ knock it out of the park,” something I think we can all agree with. For their part, 20th Century Studios is on board with reuniting the pair if Speed 3 ever does get the greenlight.
The first Speed would go on to be one of the highest-grossing films of 1994 and be nominated for three Academy Awards, winning both sound categories.
