Keanu Reeves cameo in Severance season 2, explained

The first episode of “Severance” Season 2 had the unenviable task of following up the spectacular finale of the show’s first season, and instead of immediately providing answers, it re-immerses viewers in some of the most important mysteries of the first season. The entire episode takes place in the Lumon office, with no insight into the outside world or what the characters are up to there. The only clues we get come from the portrayal of Mark S. (Adam Scott) and the rest of the gang, who are told that their temporary escape at the end of the first season made them famous and led to major reforms in working conditions laid off employees.

The events of the first season finale are summarized in an animated corporate educational video that will be shown to the Macrodata Refinement (or MDR) team after everyone returns to the office. Anyone who’s seen “The Matrix” or “John Wick” will likely perk up at the start of this scene, as the video’s narrator – an anthropomorphized version of the Lumon Building – is voiced by Keanu Reeves.

You wouldn’t know this by looking at the credits, as Reeves is uncredited. But if you’ve seen any of his films, it’s impossible not to recognize that iconic voice that recently brought Shadow the Hedgehog to life “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” And if you still doubt that the building was voiced by Neo himself, series creator Dan Erickson may have revealed the game in a recent interview with /Film.

When recently speaking to /Film about the second season of “Severance,” series creator Dan Erickson was reserved about Keanu Reeves’ uncredited appearance. When asked about the cameo, Erickson slyly replied, “I really have no idea what you could be talking about. I don’t actually know this actor.” He cheekily asked: “Is that the guy from ‘The Lake House’?”

The likelihood of Reeves appearing again in a major role seems highly unlikely, but it makes the show even more absurd that such a recognizable voice is behind the bizarre training video shown to MDR. The video itself raises many questions, as it portrays the Innies’ escape from Season 1 as both a violent uprising (dubbed the “Macrodat Uprising”) and a highly influential act for which the company is grateful. The “reforms” this introduces are certainly some kind of marginal progress for the innie rights, but they don’t really seem to change much. In some ways, the company appears to be using the bad publicity of its escape to promote a new public image of friendly and accommodating corporate leaders.

While Keanu Reeves is the star of the claymation-style corporate training video in Season 2, Episode 1 of “Severance,” he’s not the only household name to give a building a googly-eyed look. The comedian Sarah Sherman, best known these days as Actor on “Saturday Night Live” also appears briefly as a water tower at the end of the instructional video. But unlike Reeves, Sherman is actually credited with a single line.

Perhaps because the first season of Severance was so acclaimed and popular, it seems to have become a hot ticket for established names in Hollywood. Two of the temporary MDR replacements appearing in Season 2 are played by character actors Bob Balaban and Alia Shawkat, and casting news ahead of the Season 2 premiere confirmed that Game of Thrones alum Gwendoline Christie is also in the show will be there.

Since Reeves’ role is uncredited, it leaves open the possibility that additional cameo appearances in later episodes will be hidden in plain sight. This is just another mystery that alert Severance fans should keep an eye out for as season two progresses.