Keanu Reeves, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the alternative ending to ‘Speed’
Keanu Reeves, often celebrated as the ‘Internet’s boyfriend’, is not only famous for his quirky roles but also for his mastery of action-packed, high-budget blockbusters. While he is currently renowned for his portrayal of John Wick, Reeves’ journey as an action star began in the 1990s with a series of iconic films that cemented his place in Hollywood.
One of these is the 1994 action thriller Speed. Following his lead role in Point Break three years earlier, Speed marked another step towards global prominence for Reeves, adding a convincing string to his bow and ultimately leading to his defining role as Neo in 1999’s The Matrix. Directed by Jan de Bont in his feature debut and adapted from a screenplay by Graham Yost, Speed was a tremendous success, winning two Oscars. However, it feels undeniably dated today, reflecting the outrageous nature of the decade’s action movies.
Starring Reeves alongside Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper, the plot centres around a bus rigged by an extortionist to detonate if its speed falls below 50 miles per hour—a ludicrously unbelievable story. Bombastic, unrealistic, and high-octane from start to finish, it is mainly remembered for the tangible on-screen chemistry between Reeves and Bullock, as well as its many nail-biting scenes.
The final action sequence on the Los Angeles subway is the one that most viewers recall clearly. In it, Hopper’s terrorist Payne has kidnapped Bullock’s Annie and fitted her with an explosive vest rigged to a pressure-release detonator aboard a hijacked train. What ensues is a fraught scene that culminates with Reeves’ Jack decapitating Payne by pushing his head up towards a railway signal.
It has been revealed that this claustrophobic, panic-laden scene might not have come to fruition if it wasn’t for an unlikely source. The subway wasn’t the first choice for the climax, but the iconic Dodger Stadium; however, the team owners denied access to the iconic Elysian Park structure.
Yost revealed all when appearing on the Script Apart podcast in 2021. He explained that before the subway ending was even considered, the original script concluded with the bus from earlier in the movie ending up at Dodger Stadium. In the film, Jack spends all morning keeping the bus above 50mph and devises the idea of driving it to the airport, where they can speed along the runways uninhibited, which happens just before Payne kidnaps Annie. However, if Yost had realised his initial vision, the third act would have unfolded entirely differently from the one we know.
“The original ending was just them getting off the bus and it just was a shorter script,” Yost explained. “I don’t know how well you know L.A., but I just looked at a map where could they drive around in a circle and I saw Dodger Stadium has this big road all the way around the stadium through all the parking lots. I thought that’s perfect.”
However, as American sports franchises like a clean-cut image, they were put off by the explosions and terrorist themes. Yost recalled: “They said, ‘Yeah, no. We’re not going to have a terrorist film shot at Dodger Stadium.’”
Not being allowed into Dodger Stadium eventually led the film’s scouts to settle on Los Angeles International Airport, which turned out to be a godsend. While the big explosion there made absolutely no sense to anyone, including Yost, it provided more room for entertainment than the home of Californian baseball ever could. Captivated by the flames, no one was bothered that the tow cables were clearly visible on the pavement—not even the Academy. It was a different time.
