Key & Peele Will Go Undercover to Save a Cat in ‘Keanu’

By  · Published on October 21st, 2014

Key & Peele Will Go Undercover to Save a Cat in ‘Keanu’

Twentieth Century Fox

The thing about Key & Peele is that every time they come up with an idea that’s stranger than the last one, it seems perfectly normal. The comedy duo brought us sketches featuring a continental breakfast-themed nod to The Shining (with go-gurts, to stay), an elaborate Les Miz production just about how nobody gets the chance to clearly talk during the entire musical and of course, Mr. Garvey, the substitute teacher who can’t quite get the pronunciation of his white students’ names correct and is livid when anyone challenges him.

Though Key & Peele (full names Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) had been in talks to make a film about their Mr. Garvey character, that’s apparently not up next. Neither is their proposed Police Academy reboot and their untitled project with Judd Apatow.

Instead, their upcoming film is Keanu, the story of two best friends who pose as drug dealers and go undercover in the seedy underbelly of the criminal world, where people are despicable enough to kidnap a cap named after – who else? – the star of Speed.

There is no indication on how they landed on the name for the titular cat. Does he like kung fu? Has he ever stopped a bus carrying a bomb? Does he have excellent adventures? Money’s on the last one. Peele has written the script for the film along with Key & Peele writer Alex Rubens, who does double duty writing for Community. The film is going to be a family affair, with Peter Atencio, the director of each episode of Key & Peele, attached.

It makes sense that they’re bringing in the talent from their show. This is the first time the two have ever been able to do a joint film project with their names toplining. And let’s be honest, even if Keanu is a flop, it’s not going to be the last time. “East/West College Bowl” is far too essential to the comedy world and frankly society in general to only let them star in one project. The duo has previously done a feature together – Wanderlust in 2012 – but it wasn’t something they had creative control over.

Keanu is an interesting move, though, when considering their earlier concepts. Saving whimsically named cats is a big departure from bringing back Police Academy. According to seeking revenge for his dog.

As Peele put it, “The movie should resonate with a large audience as almost everyone has had a house pet stolen by a street gang, right?”

Yup. We’ve all been there, and we’re going to line up in droves to see what happens when Key & Peele’s cat gets stolen.