'Contact me' – Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith tells Keanu Reeves he has a way to bring Johnny Silverhand back to life in Cyberpunk 2
Blog Andrew Joseph 03 Nov , 2025 0
Keanu Reeves would love to play Johnny Silverhand again, but given the events of Cyberpunk 2077, how could he? It turns out that Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith has found a way to make it make sense, telling the beloved actor: “Contact me.”
In September, while promoting his movie “Good Luck,” he was interviewed by IGN, Keanu Reeves says he wants to be part of CD Projekt's 2020 game sequel.
When asked if he would be interested in revisiting his legendary rock star terrorist role in Cyberpunk 2, Reeves said: “Absolutely. I would love to play Johnny Silverhand again.”
Reeves' love affair with the cyberpunk community began with his explosive “you're amazing” moment at E3 2019. While Reeves was on stage announcing the release date for Cyberpunk 2077, he was interrupted by a fan yelling “You're amazing!” Reeves responded by doubling down on “You're so amazing… y'all are so amazing!” prompting more healthy memes on the internet than ever. You can see the iconic player moment in the video below.
The question is, could Reeves really play Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2 even if he wanted to? In other words, given the events of Cyberpunk 2077, could Johnny Silverhand return in the sequel?
warn! Spoilers for “Cyberpunk 2077” are as follows:
While many players believe that Cyberpunk 2077 provides a fitting conclusion to Johnny and V's story, based on the game ending set by CD Projekt for Cyberpunk 2, Reeves' return may still be open. Maybe Johnny will return as a guest star, downloading himself into someone or something else? Canon End Dependence, Will V Finally Become Johnny Silverhand, both physically and mentally, in Cyberpunk 2? Maybe we could see Johnny as part of a flashback to events before Cyberpunk 2077, like in Cyberpunk 2077?
Mike Pondsmith seems to have been thinking about this question ever since Reeves' interview with IGN. in a CD Projekt celebrates Cyberpunk 2077’s fifth anniversary liveMike Pondsmith said matter-of-factly: “A while ago, I saw that Keanu wanted to find a way to come back from the dead and play Johnny again. I have a way to do it, Keanu. Contact me.”
Understandably, Pondsmith hasn't revealed what those “ways” are, but as we mentioned, fans have come up with plenty of theories to make it make sense.
Reeves isn't the only big Hollywood name to appear in Cyberpunk 2077. Idris Elba has been cast in the lead role in the successful expansion Phantom Free, and Bond Smith couldn't be happier. In fact, he revealed that he was worried that CD Projekt might be sued because his character looked so much like Elba, only to later reveal that it was actually Elba who played the character.
“So let me be clear,” Pondsmith recalled of his reaction to the news. “'You get Keanu Reeves, and then you get Idris Elba. What happens next? Scarlett Johansson?'
“Scarlett, you know, I have some roles for you. You can do anything.”
Scarlett Johansson in Cyberpunk 2? That remains to be seen. But Bond Smith has been talking about the highly anticipated sequel in the past. in May, Pond Smith teases some previously unknown details When he was asked at the Digital Dragons 2025 conference about the scope of his involvement in Cyberpunk 2 (then known as Project Orion).
Pondsmith admitted he wasn't as involved this time around, but said he did review the script and had been to CD Projekt to check on work in progress.
“I was wandering around last week, talking to different departments, seeing what they had, and going, ‘Oh, look, this is new networking software, what do you think?’ ‘Oh, yeah, it’s pretty good and it works here. “
Then, a little bit about the sequel: In addition to the Night City we know from Cyberpunk 2077, it also features an entirely new city. Pondsmith described the new city as “like Chicago gone wrong.”
“I spent a lot of time talking to one of the environment people who was explaining the new place in Orion because we visited another city – I won't tell you more, but we visited another city. Night City is still there. But I remember looking at it and going, yeah, I understand how you want this, and this does work. It didn't feel like Blade Runner, it felt more like Chicago gone wrong. I said, 'Yeah, I can see this working.”
It's worth pointing out that Pondsmith's comments don't necessarily indicate that the cyberpunk sequel will feature a future Chicago, but rather a city that has the feel of a dystopian version of the city. This is likely a view for Chicago going forward, but that hasn't been confirmed based on these comments. There's also some controversy over whether Cyberpunk 2 will expand on Night City from Cyberpunk 2077, or launch a new version, and how playable it will be.
It sounds like we'll have to wait a while to find out. CD Projekt is of course focused on The Witcher 4, with CD Projekt co-CEO Michał Nowakowski saying that Cyberpunk 2 won't be released until at least 2030.
Photo by Christian Peterson/Getty Images.
Wesley is IGN News Director. Find him on Twitter: @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or privately at [email protected].