At E3 2019, Keanu Reeves walked out on stage during Microsoft’s press conference and stole the show. His appearance at the event was to announce his inclusion in Cyberpunk 2077 as Johnny Silverhand. Since then, information about Johnny Silverhand and Reeves’ role in the game have been drip-fed to fans.
Now, as part of Night City Wire Episode 5, CD Projekt Red has shown off the official Johnny Silverhand trailer as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how it and Reeves brought the character to life.
Silverhand is a a figure from the past in Cyberpunk 2077, someone who “died forever ago” but he continues to live on inside V’s head. Presumably through some chared tech. He has his own goals and his own mission and is willing to do anything, even using V’s body, to accomplish it.
Cyberpunk 2077 – Johnny Silverhand
The trailer gives a good overview of Johnny and his personality. It’s clear Johnny Silverhand is going to be a Tyler Durden-esque character, pushing V in a number of ways without V ever really knowing if Johnny is on their side or not. It makes for an interesting dynamic, especially in a narrative RPG with a strong focus on choice.
How Johnny Silverhand’s story plays out is just one of the many tantalising aspects of Cyberpunk 2077 that we can’t wait to see.
The behind-the-scenes look at Reeves performing motion-capture and voice over for Johnny Silverhand also gives fans some great insight into the character. Reeves talks about being attracted to the project because of the choices available to him and by being able to play a moment in a number of ways. He also discusses how familiar mocap was to him after starring as Neo in The Matrix.
Check it out below.
Cyberpunk 2077 launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X on December 10.
