Keanu Reeves gives an update on his R-Rated live-action comic-book adaptation for Boom! Studios’ BRZRKR as well as the status of the animated show.
Keanu Reeves has provided an updated on the status of the live-action BRZRKR film, as well as the animated series. BRZRKR is a comic-book series written and created by Reeves and Matt Kindt and drawn by Ron Garney. The story focuses on an immortal warrior known simply as B., who battles his way through the ages, leading to modern day where he is used as a government weapon in exchange for their help in finding out his origins and how to end his life once and for all. The 12-issue series is currently running at Boom! Studios with the first trade paperback expected to debut this month.
Reeves came up with the concept for BRZRKR and developed it with writer Matt Kindt, coming on board to produce and star in the feature adaptation just as the first issue went to print. The live-action film will star Reeves, while he supplies his voice for the animated series. The debut issue of BRZRKR is one of the top-selling comics of the last decade, moving over 600K issues and sending it back for reprints, with subsequent issues selling out at comic shops around the world.
In an interview with Collider, Reeves has given an update on BRZRKR, where he reaffirms that the live-action film will be an “R-rated story” for Netflix and says they’ve been “very cool” to work with. Reeves says that his ambition is not to do a “filmed version of the comic book” so that it isn’t a direct copy of the material. He goes on to explain that he’s interested in the creative direction of other storytellers in which they follow set rules for the character but put their own spin on it. Reeves also says that they’re currently looking at different animation studios to head up the animated series and that The Batman writer, Mattson Tomlin, is currently at work on the live-action script. Read more of what Reeves said below:
“My ambition or hope is not to do a filmed version of the comic book so that they’ll have things in common, definitely the main character and his kind of rule set, but that we can take it to other places as well. We’re talking to a couple of different animation companies and trying to figure that out. And, again, for me I’m hoping to be inspired and influenced…there are some rules to the story, but I also want other creators to do their version of it. So I’m hoping to do a different version of a metaverse where in the sense having different storytellers with one set of rules but go other places with it. We’re working on trying to set up a company with the animation and we’ve hired a writer for the film Mattson Tomlin. He’s been cool and just starting to put things together. That’s where we’re at.”
BRZRKR is an exceptionally hyperviolent comic, which explores the depths of humanity, war and the struggle of existence, taking full advantage of the comic-book medium. Matt Kindt, who co-writes the book with Reeves, is well known in the comics world, having created the books “Pistolwhip” and the ongoing title “MIND MGMT,” both of which are critically acclaimed series. Reeves is next set to appear in Matrix Resurrections, the fourth film in The Matrix series, and will begin shooting John Wick: Chapter 4 this Spring.
BRZRKR is one of the coolest, most violent comics to hit the comic shelves in recent years, and while it feels perfectly crafted to fit Reeves, it’s also a fairly deep and introspective look at immortality, bloodlust, and the burden of living forever with an insatiable desire to kill. With Reeves making waves recently with his reinvigorated action-star status, particularly with the John Wick series, BRZRKR could be another link in the chain of his franchise film work. The actor, who got his start being a kind of comedic stoner in films like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Parenthood, has quickly joined the ranks of Tom Cruise, remaking his career into an action star with roles in The Matrix, Speed, Point Break and now John Wick, putting him at the peak of his popularity. BRZRKR will no doubt help continue that ascent for the actor.
Source: Collider
- BRZRKRRelease date: Oct 05, 2021
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