In a Hollywood twist that feels ripped straight from one of his own blockbusters, Keanu Reeves – the eternal action icon who dodged bullets in John Wick and bent reality in The Matrix – is locked in high-stakes negotiations for his next adrenaline-fueled ride. Warner Bros. Pictures is on the verge of greenlighting Shiver, a pulse-pounding sci-fi thriller directed by Deadpool visionary Tim Miller and penned by the sharp-witted Ian Shorr. But here’s the kicker: Reeves’ proposed payday is so astronomically inflated that producers are sweating bullets, wondering if they can reel in this deal before it spirals into its own endless loop of delays.

Picture this: a rogue smuggler, weathered by years of shadowy deals across sun-soaked waters, touches down in the treacherous Caribbean for what should be a routine handoff. But betrayal strikes like a rogue wave. Double-crossed by his own crew, he’s left adrift amid a floating graveyard of corpses, with bloodthirsty mercenaries closing in from speedboats and razor-finned sharks circling below, their dorsal fins slicing the turquoise sea like omens of doom.

Just when escape seems impossible, the real horror kicks in – a inexplicable time loop resets the carnage, forcing our anti-hero to relive the betrayal, the gunfire, and the chomping jaws over and over. Each iteration peels back layers of conspiracy, demanding wits sharper than a switchblade to shatter the cycle and claw his way to survival. It’s Edge of Tomorrow crashing headlong into The Shallows, with Reeves channeling his signature stoic intensity into a man pushed to the brink of madness.

Miller, fresh off helming the irreverent chaos of Deadpool and contributing to mind-bending anthologies like Love, Death & Robots, brings his VFX wizardry to the table. Expect visceral underwater sequences where the ocean’s depths become a labyrinth of looping terror – shimmering schools of fish turning into harbingers as the loop resets, mercenaries’ faces blurring into familiar ghosts. Shorr, no stranger to high-concept thrills after scripting the mind-warping Infinite with Mark Wahlberg, crafts a narrative that’s as intellectually twisty as it is viscerally raw. Producing heavyweights Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman) and Aaron Ryder (Dumb Money) are steering the ship, ensuring Shiver packs the explosive pacing of a Vaughn flick with Ryder’s knack for grounded emotional stakes.

Yet, amid the excitement, a financial storm brews. Reeves, at 61, remains Hollywood’s most bankable enigma, his post-John Wick glow undimmed despite recent swings like the spin-off Ballerina and Aziz Ansari’s comedy Good Fortune. Insiders whisper his ask eclipses even the nine-figure hauls he’s commanded before, fueled by his packed slate: a fifth John Wick chapter, the comic adaptation BRZRKR with Justin Lin, and Broadway triumphs in Waiting for Godot. For Warner Bros., already navigating a post-Barbie boom and superhero slumps, footing this bill could mean betting the farm on Reeves’ draw. Will they cave, unleashing a franchise-starter that marries time-bending puzzles with primal ocean dread? Or will the loop break, stranding Shiver in development purgatory?

Reeves’ allure lies in his unassuming gravitas – the guy who rides the subway and gives away royalties to crew – now weaponized for a role that demands vulnerability amid apocalypse. If Shiver sails, it could redefine Reeves’ sci-fi legacy, proving age is just a loop to escape. But if greed grounds it, fans might be left replaying old favorites, wondering what could have been. Stay tuned; in Hollywood, every deal is a gamble, and the house always resets the clock.