Deep in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, a transport vessel stocked with cryogenically preserved humans suffers a minor malfunction: Keanu Reeves is unfrozen ninety years too early. Now, we’re all familiar with the urban legend that Reeves is actually an immortal being from a time long ago (and if not, please educate yourself at Keanuisimmortal.com), but the upcoming Passengers is science fiction, and thus allows for a fictional Reeves that will die of natural causes within nine decades or so.
So what’s a space-Keanu Reeves to do? Well, according to Deadline, he’ll be defrosting Rachel McAdams for a strange new kind of science fiction-y love story. Passengers has the potential to be truly fascinating: the screenplay was written by Jon Spaihts, who wrote the original, Damon Lindelof-free draft of Prometheus, and will be helmed by Brian Kirk, who’s cut his teeth on a long list of TV shows including Game of Thrones, Luther and Boardwalk Empire. And while McAdams may have an endless stream of tattered romantic comedies in her wake, her roles in Midnight in Paris and To the Wonder should be proof enough that she can handle something a little headier. Now, the only thing left to question is whether Reeves can emote well enough to simulate love.