Speed Was Supposed To Be A Sequel To The Best 80s Cop Movie
Nowadays, Keanu Reeves is synonymous with John Wick, and the four incredibly successful, brutal films centered on the retired assassin pulled back into action. But flashback 30 years to 1994, and all anyone could talk about in connection to Reeves was the iconic blockbuster Speed. As it turns out, that now-classic action flick was almost released in a very different way, as, according to ComicBook.com, it was initially pitched as the script for Beverly Hills Cop 3.
Speed was one of the biggest blockbuster successes of the 90s. It helped solidify Keanu Reeves’ already growing career and also featured Hollywood A-listers Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Joe Morton, and Jeff Daniels.
It’s a film that has captivated audiences and stayed in the center of pop culture vernacular for almost 30 years, but according to the film’s producer, Mark Gordon, it was almost released as a completely different movie.
Speed was initially pitched as Beverly Hills Cops 3.
In the film, Keanu Reeves plays Jack Traven, a young NYC cop who must keep a bus traveling at the speed of 50 miles per hour at all times, or else a bomb will go off. The script for this thrilling, though somewhat absurd, plot was penned by Graham Yost, and Gordon loved it, but he had a hard time getting a studio to agree.
Sharp, funny, and violent, Speed had everything a studio would have been looking for in a feature film, but no studio was biting at the bait, so in a last-ditch effort, Gordon pitched it to Paramount as the trequel to Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop.
“I got about 15 minutes of traction before it was dismissed, because that was back when the mandate was to find a Beverly Hills Cop 3 so I was like, ‘Let’s put Axel Foley on the bus.’ It was a Hail Mary, man. I might maintain it was a better movie, it would have been a better movie than ultimately what we got for Beverly Hills Cop 3, but that was my final Hail Mary.”
Speed producer Mark Gordon
Gordon recently appeared on the 50 MPH Podcast to discuss how difficult it was to get this now classic movie made. He recalled how Paramount was originally on board with Speed as it was in the original script but then decided to walk away before the talk turned to budget.
Desperate to get the movie made, Gordon made a “Hail Marry” pitch, suggesting switching out the main character, Jack Traven, for Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley and making the movie the next in the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy.
Speed had everything a studio would have been looking for in a feature film, but no studio was biting at the bait, so in a last-ditch effort, Gordon pitched it to Paramount as the trequel to Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop.
He said the idea got about “15 minutes of traction” before the head suits at Paramount decided to turn it away, leaving Speed dead in the water. Luckily, Gordon wasn’t a producer willing to give up, and the film eventually found a home at 20th Century Fox, where it ended up becoming the action flick of the summer.
Speed became a massive box-office success, grossing an impressive $350.4 million worldwide, exceeding expectations and its $30 to $37 million budget.
Speed became the fifth highest-grossing film of the year and was recognized with two Academy Awards for Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Sound. Meanwhile, Beverly Hills Cop 3 also came out in 1994, and while it was also a box-office success, it only grossed a total of $119.2 million and didn’t end up having as long-lasting a legacy as Speed has endured.
Because Speed is known as such a classic now, it’s interesting to think what might have happened if it wasn’t released as a standalone film. Would it still have created such a legacy if it became Beverly Hills Cop 3 instead?
While Speed may have started as a “goofy” idea, the combination of humor, intense moments, and relatable characters elevated the film to cinematic greatness and a film that is still recognized as one of the best action movies ever made.
