Keanu Reeveshas become one of the most beloved movie stars in Hollywood right now, and he has become known for excelling in some big sequels. Reeves started his career in the 80s and enjoyed his major breakout role in a comedymovie calledBill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.That led to his first sequel,Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.
However, his biggest franchise came overa decade later withThe Matrix.It isn’t just his own franchises thatReeves has seen sequel roles in,as he has also joined others in sequels. He took on a role in the fourthToy Storymovie and the thirdSonicmovie, while launchinghis most successful franchise withJohn Wick.
The worst-received movie in theMatrixfranchise was the third one, withMatrix Revolutionssupposedly ending Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) story as the Chosen One to save the world from the machines.The film dropped the franchise to a low $427.3 million at the box office,and $139.3 million domestically, which was the worst of the series to that point.
Part of this came from disappointment with the second movie, but it was more than that. Reeves was still great playing Neo in this sequel. However, critics complained aboutThe Matrix: Revolutions’weaker philosophical argumentsthan the second movie delivered and there wasn’t enough of the groundbreaking action that made the first movie revolutionary.
The first sequel Keanu Reeves appeared in was in theBill & Tedcomedy franchise.The film wasn’t a big box office successand received mixed critical reviews. However, for fans of the franchise, it was a fantastic follow-up. Instead of traveling through time,Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s slacker heroesplanned to perform in a Battle of the Bands.
At one point, they died and went to Hell, where they played games with Death to escape, and then delivered the classic Poison line “Every rose has its thorn” to get into Heaven for a meeting with God. The jokes were great, although a step down from the first movie.
William Sadler stole every scene he was in as Death, and George Carlin was just as great as Rufus as he was in the first film. It is a beloved Keanu Reeves sequel, but less than many of his other appearances.
The third sequel inThe Matrixfranchise arrived in 2021 withKeanu Reeves returning as Neo forThe Matrix Resurrections.This movie saw Neo somehow back in the virtual reality world, where he no longer knew who he was and thought he was a video game designer who created theMatrixvideo game.
Fans and critics weren’t particularly fond of the movie. It ended up at a franchise-low $37.6 million domestically on a $190 million budget. Even with its international box office, it only hit $157.2 million. Critics and audiences gave it a 63% average rating, higher thanThe Matrix: Revolutionsbut lower than the rest of the franchise.
The movie was better than the third film, with a creative story that broke down the creators' vision for the franchise compared to what fans wanted to see.As good asThe Matrix Resurrectionswas,it had its shortcomings, much of it the retelling of the first film’s main story, and it never found its audience.
Every movie in theJohn Wickfranchise saw the releases get better and better, but that streak ended withBallerina.The film was a box office failure, only making $101.3 million on a $90 million budget. The problem might be that Keanu Reeves was barely in it.
Instead, the film follows Ana de Armas, who plays Eve Macarro, a ballerina who trains as an assassin under the Ruska Roma. While the film was a box office failure, it received positive reviews, at 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ana de Armas was praised for her performance and, given the Rotten Tomatoes score, it was clearly a good movie, but the severe lack of Keanu Reeves might have hurt it.
The third movie in theBill & Tedfranchise arrived 29 years after the first sequel and received high praise, sitting at 83% and certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.However, the audience score was lower at 64%,showing that not all fans bought into it. Bill and Ted are parents and still haven’t written the song to save the world.
Critics praised the film for refining the charm of the first film in the series, and it showed that Bill and Ted are two characters who, while mostly clueless, are wholly optimistic about the world around them. They travel through time trying to finally write the song that will save the world, and even William Sadler returns as Death.
The film was a box office failure, but it deserves a much bigger audience. The entire theme of the world needing to sing together to patch the fracture destroying it is a story that everyone needs to see right now.
It might seem hard to believe when looking back at the movie, butThe Matrix Reloadedwas a huge successwhen it came out in 2003. The film was the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, making $741.8 million on a $150 million budget. It was also the highest-rated film by critics other than the first one, at 74% fresh.
The Matrix ReloadedbrokeTerminator 2: Judgment Day’srecord for the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.
However, it was also the movie that mostly ruined the franchise, thanks to its confusing storyline and overemphasis on philosophical conversations rather than the revolutionary action scenes that made the first one so great. That said, it was a good film that looked at the real world and the war for freedom from the machines.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3is a rare Keanu Reeves sequel movie that he joined later in the franchise. After Idris Elba joined in the second movie as Knuckles, KeanuReeves signed on for the third as the latest hedgehog warrior, Shadow. As expected, he is the new villain in the film, who was eventually rehabilitated.
Keanu Reeves' voice was a welcome addition to the cast. He was slightly recognizable, bringing some instant credibility to Shadow, but never overshadowed the new villain with his delivery. This was needed since the star of the series was still Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, and this time also his grandfather, Gerald.
The movie was once again a huge success for the video game franchise – a fun time at the movies, with great action and a good story. The box office was enough to guarantee more releases in the future, with Reeves possibly returning, and the critical reviews remained surprisingly high, with an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
John Wick: Chapter 2did something interesting. It took the story from the first movie, which was a revenge tale of a man seeking revenge on the people who killed his dog, andadded a complex mythology of a world of secret assassins.It created the franchise by opening up this fantastical world.
The world-building inJohn Wick: Chapter 2was fantastic.
Keanu Reeves was asked to do more in this movie concerning the fight choreography, and he was spectacular, as expected. The world-building inJohn Wick: Chapter 2was excellent, but that also kept it from being better than the movies that followed. However, it set the table for brilliance and an eventual $1 billion franchise take.
The John Wick franchise made more and more money as the series wore on, and these are the Keanu Reeves sequels that have been the most profitable.John Wick: Chapter 3made more moneythan the second, and its critics' scores show it is a slightly better film.
In this chapter,John Wick is on the run from the assassins,and he tries to find old colleagues who might help him. The film has the same Rotten Tomatoes score as the second, and only one percentage point separates the second and third films' audience scores. It also almost turned Wick into a superhero before the fourth film.
Toy Story 3ended on a perfect note,with Andy leaving for college and giving his toys to a new child who needed these “friends” to grow up with.There was no reason forToy Story 4,so when Pixar announced it, the argument was that they were bleeding the beloved franchise dry. What resulted was another brilliant Pixar movie.
While the third movie showed Andy leaving his toys behind to become an adult, the fourth movie showed Woody finally realizing it was time for him to move on to his own life because his child was now grown up. This film was Woody’s goodbye story, and he had to meet some new toys to figure this out.
Keanu Reeves was one of the new toys.– Duke Caboom, a motorcycle stunt toy. He was a fun addition, mostly a side character who helped Woody on his journey. However, as a film,Toy Story 4ranks as one of Keanu Reeves' best sequels, sitting at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and making $1.074 billion at the box office.
