In the 2008 reimagining of the science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still , director Scott Derrickson pivots from the original's Cold War anxieties to a contemporary crisis: humanity’s environmental impact on the planet. The film presents a stoic Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, an extraterrestrial messenger whose mission is to determine if humans can change their destructive behavior or if they must be eradicated to ensure the Earth's survival. An Eco-Emergency Narrative