Keanu Reeves Shares a Surprisingly Profound Answer When Asked What Happens When We Die

Keanu Reeves' musings had a noticeable effect on host Stephen Colbert, who stayed silent for several seconds before reaching over to shake the actor's hand

Keanu Reeves had an incredibly thoughtful response when asked about his thoughts on death.

Although mortality isn’t the most common topic of conversation when celebrities hit the late night talk show circuit, the weighty subject matter came up when Reeves, 54, was discussing the third installment of the Bill and Ted franchise during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week.

Opening up about the plot of the film, which is currently called Bill and Ted Face the Music, Reeves shared that the titular characters are under a lot of pressure because “they were supposed to write the song that was supposed to unite the world and bring peace and everything, but they haven’t.”

To make things even more stressful, during the film, the pair find out that their song will actually “have to save the universe” — and they’ll only have 80 minutes to write it.

And should they fail, life as we know it will be over.

“It’s the end of the entire universe,” Reeves shared. “It’s the end of the time-space continuum.”

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

Commenting on the incredibly high stakes of the film, host Stephen Colbert remarked, “so you’re facing your own morality and the mortality of all existence.”

“Yeah,” Reeves answered.

Naturally, Colbert then went on to ask the actor what he thought happens when we die.

Taking a moment to consider the question, Reeves simply replied, “I know that the ones who love us will miss us.”

Seemingly unable to come up with a response to the actor’s profound reply, Colbert was silent for several seconds, before reaching over to the actor to shake his hand, and reminding the audience about the release date for Reeves’ new action film John Wick: Chapter 3, which opens in theaters this week.

Everett

Reeves was no doubt speaking from experience, having endured multiple tragedies in his life. His best friend, River Phoenix, died of a drug overdose in 1993 at the age of 23. His late girlfriend Jennifer Syme, whom he met in 1998, later gave birth to their stillborn baby daughter. Reeves and Syme remained best friends until April 2001, when Syme died in a car crash.

After years of speculation about whether a third film in the cult comedy franchise would ever come back, in March, Reeves and Alex Winter, who starred in in 1989’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey — confirmed they would be returning for another movie.

The long-awaited film will be written by franchise scribes Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon and will go into production this summer, with a release date scheduled for Aug. 21, 2020, according to the The New York Times.

“We want to say thank you to the fans,” Reeves said alongside Winter, 53, in a video shot from the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

“It’s all because of you guys,” added Winter. “We owe you a huge debt of gratitude so we wanted to say thank you.”

John Wick: Chapter 3 opens in theaters on May 17, 2019.