Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt Passed on The Daniels’ $150M Sci-Fi Comedy After Ryan Gosling Exited

As you can imagine, after Ryan Gosling exited Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s upcoming untitled action sci-fi comedy set up at Universal, there was a scramble to find his replacement. Who might take over?

The Hot Mic’s Jeff Sneider reports that Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt were sought out to lead the film, but both declined to star. No word yet on whether they read the script, but they must have surely been briefed on what the film would be about — which we still don’t know.

That said, Sneider says that an actor has been found, although the trades have been told to hold off on the story. Who could it be? The budget sits at around $150M, which means it could very well be an A-lister.

Kwan recently confirmed that the film is a “fun sci-fi action comedy” with “a big heart,” which is basically how EEAAO was described, less so their first feature — “Swiss Army Man” — which, at Sundance 2016, had been dubbed the “farting corpse movie.”

Originally dated for June 12, 2026, this new project quietly vanished from Universal’s schedule last year, sparking rumors of creative overhauls. Kwan did confirm that the script has been tinkered with to adapt to constant changes in the world. The new date is November 19, 2027.

This mysterious new film will arrive more than five years after “Everything Everywhere” hit theaters, at a time when indie cinema was still reeling from the pandemic and the Daniels’ A24 oddity somehow became an indie hit, with a $77M domestic tally and $143M worldwide.

Suffice it to say, this next film will be the biggest gamble of their careers, with a budget aimed at turning it into a major hit.