Keanu Reeves is experiencing a career renaissance lately. His John Wick movies are hits, and he’s beloved across the internet for his meme-able facial expressions and aura of gentle wisdom.
Now he’s embracing his reputation as a modern mystic in the 2020 SpongeBob movie, “Sponge on the Run.” In the trailer, released last week, Keanu appears as a tumbleweed named Sage.
“I’m made out of sage and I am a sage,” he tells SpongeBob and Patrick. “So it works out pretty well.”
In silly SpongeBob fashion, Reeves’s character is represented simply by the actor’s face, encircled in golden light and dropped in the middle of a tumbleweed.
Presumably, Sage appears to help the Bikini Bottom boys on their journey. The movie follows their adventures as they search high and low for SpongeBob’s lost snail, Gary.
The trailer also shows a little bit of the SpongeBob-Gary origin story: SpongeBob adopted Gary as a young sponge, and even back then Gary communicated with only his tiny “meow” sound.
But I digress. Reeves’s role looks like it’s probably just a cameo, but it’s sure to generate buzz. As usual, the folks on Twitter had plenty of reactions. User @linmemeuel seemed bemused by the news:
I have so many questions #SpongeBobMovie pic.twitter.com/zqjpbe4LOg
— . (@linmemeuel) November 14, 2019
@keanusre could hardly believe her eyes:
me when i saw keanu reeves in the trailer #SpongeBobMovie pic.twitter.com/9g7qEWcImZ
— ðððððð. (@keanusre) November 14, 2019
@DavidOpie is “here for it,” without hesitation:
The Keanussance has reached its absolute peak and I am here for it#KeanuReeves #SpongeBobMovie pic.twitter.com/m09lC6J7ZC
— David Opie ð (@DavidOpie) November 14, 2019
@Rendy_Jones feels only gratitude, which is a very Keanu emotion.
To the executive or animator or writer working on #SpongeBobMovie that came up with the pitch of, "You know what live-action cameo this new Spongebob Movie needs? Keanu Reeves!"
Thank You. pic.twitter.com/fx1b0ciQtr
— Rendy Jones (@Rendy_Jones) November 14, 2019
“Sponge on the Run” is Reeves’s latest foray into animation work. He’s done roles here and there throughout his career, but this is his second in two years: Earlier in 2019, Reeves lent his voice to Duke Caboom, a key character in “Toy Story 4.” His mellow, distinctive way of speaking stands out — and now his spiritual-surfer-dude vibe is landing him roles where he can just be his quirky self.
The new “SpongeBob” is set for release on May 22, 2020, just in time to kick off the summer movie season. Here’s the full trailer, Keanu cameo and all:
To quote SpongeBob, “I’m ready!”
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
