Keanu signs on for new Spike Lee movie

Matrix movie icon Keanu Reeves has signed on to star in a new thriller directed by cutting-edge Hollywood director Spike Lee.

Reeves, 40, is set to take the leading role as a disgraced policeman in The Night Watchman, which will begin production when he has finished promoting his latest film, Constantine, set to open in February.

In the movie, the screenplay for which will be written by James Ellroy, Reeves' character tries to salvage his tarnished reputation by exposing corruption in a police department.

Lee is best known for his 1992 hit Malcolm X, which starred Denzel Washington as the US civil rights activist, and he also made She Hate Me (2004) and 2002's complex drama 25th Hour.