The rumor circulated when an Instagram account posted images of Reeves sporting long dreadlocks.

Since May 2024, social media has buzzed with claims that actor Keanu Reeves is set to portray Bob Marley in an upcoming film about the Jamaican reggae singer’s life. This rumor began on May 22, 2024, with an Instagram post by the account manmeetsmachine, titled “Rasta Reeves,” and featuring the hashtag “#bobmarley.”

The post included photos that appeared to show the “John Wick” star with long, dark dreadlocks, resembling Marley:

These images sparked speculation across Instagram, X and Facebook, with many users asserting, “Keanu Reeves is playing Bob Marley in a new movie he’s shooting in Jamaica.” 

Snopes reached out to Reeves’ team for clarification about this but did not hear back.

Regardless, a little digging showed the Instagram images are fake.

The rumor gained significant traction on June 28, 2024, when the X account Big Protein shared the images of Reeves, captioning them, “Keanu Reeves on the set of his new movie called ‘The Last Bumbaclot.'” This post amassed 30 million views, as of this writing.