AceShowbiz -

Becoming the first acting talent to board the cast, Keanu Reeves has given his commitment to topline "The Day the Earth Stood Still", 20th Century Fox's remake of its 1951 sci-fi classic of the same name.

In this new version, Reeves will fill the role of Klaatu, a humanoid alien who arrives on Earth, accompanied by an indestructible, heavily armed robot, carrying a warning to world leaders that their continued aggression will lead to annihilation by species watching from afar. Pic thereby marks the actor's return to the sci-fi realm after "The Matrix" trilogy while putting him in back-to-back films for Fox of which Fox Searchlight division is backing up his newest starring vehicle "The Night Watchman."

Shooting is expected to start either in late fall or early 2008 as a planned tentpole for the studio under the direction of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" helmer Scott Derrickson who is set to carry out the task from David Scarpa's script. It is learned that besides using advances in visual effects, the movie will also update the original premise, which was noted to be a response to the rise of the Cold War after WWII.