Cyberpunk 2077: CDPR reveals more about Keanu Reeves' Johnny Silverhand

Night City is ripe for burning.

CD Projekt Red, in the latest Night City Wire episode, revealed more information and lore surrounding Cyberpunk 2077's resident anarchist Johnny Silverhand (played by the "breathtaking" Keanu Reeves).

Cyberpunk 2077 is easily one of the biggest games of the last couple of decades, given the sort of hype around the game. The pressure is on for CDPR to deliver. Given the studio's track record, they're likely to pull off another big win.

The last episode in the Night City Wire series capped off the series in a big way with an extensive look at Johnny Silverhand and some behind the scenes insight into Keanu Reeves' performance as the legendary Samurai frontman.

One of the biggest draws to Cyberpunk 2077, leading up to its release on December 10, is actor Keanu Reeves' turn in the game as Johnny Silverhand. The actor takes on the role of a charismatic and chaotic rockstar with a bone to pick against "Corps".

CDPR offers more insight into Cyberpunk 2077's Johnny Silverhand

The trailer focused on portraying the legendary aura that surrounds Johnny Silverhand as an ex-military, punk rock band frontman who has also been labeled a "terrorist".

This is mainly down to his agenda against Corporations and his subsequent anarchic actions that result in "burning down half the city". Johnny is a force of nature but was killed at the hands of the Corps by Adam Smasher.

However, it is revealed that his consciousness has survived and has now been interlocked with the player character's consciousness. As a result, Johnny will appear constantly throughout the game at the player's side and even take control of their body.

Co-Protagonist and not a sidekick

• Watch from 7:51 for Dev Insights into Cyberpunk 2077 by Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz.

Borys Pugacz-Muraszkiewicz, the lead writer of Cyberpunk 2077, made sure to remind fans that Johnny is essentially a co-protagonist rather than simply a sidekick. This means that his appearance won't simply be a series of one-offs throughout the game but that players will be torn between the agendas of the protagonist, V, and that of Johnny's.

This is extremely interesting as certain footage and dialogue allude to Johnny taking control of V's body, and the player, as a result, plays as him. Borys also stressed that players will ultimately be just as invested in Johnny's storyline and agenda as much as they will be in V's in Cyberpunk 2077.

Which is a neat touch by CDPR and ventures into the dual protagonist-type situation which was experimented with in their previous title, The Witcher 3, to a lesser extent, with Geralt and Ciri.

Keanu Reeves: Behind The Scenes of Cyberpunk 2077

"Wake Up, Samurai! We have a city to burn"

Fans, by this point, are accustomed to falling head over heels with Keanu Reeves' characters, whether it be Johnny Utah, John Wick, John Constantine, or any of the hundred Johns he seems to have played.

They were treated to a massive surprise when at the end of the E3 trailer of Cyberpunk 2077, Keanu himself showed up as Johnny Silverhand, followed by him making an appearance in person on the stage.

However, Silverhand is unlike any other Johnny the actor has played till this point. He is anything but a warm presence to have around as the chaotic, violent, and unpredictable Johnny likes to burn down the establishment and has a massive mean streak.

The Samurai frontman's history in the military makes him an extremely capable individual and fans are eager to know more of his anarchic adventures in Night City.

Reeves also mentioned he is no stranger to Motion Capture, previously having to do it for The Matrix movies and such. However, he also stressed that Cyberpunk 2077 is on a scale and level he has never seen before.

Night City is ready to burn

If players weren't already excited for Cyberpunk 2077, they are sure to have placed their pre-orders by this point. CDPR, in addition to new gameplay, have also dropped a 6-song EP featuring Cyberpunk 2077's Original Soundtrack on Youtube.

The game is set for release on the tenth of December and will make for a rather dystopian Holiday Season this year.