Well, that didn’t take long! Less than a month after Keanu Reeves told EW that he wants to play the protagonist of his new comic BRZRKR on screen someday, official confirmation has arrived. On Monday, Netflix announced that it has acquired the rights to BRZRKR and will first adapt the story into a feature film, followed by an anime spin-off series.
Since only one issue of BRZRKR (of a planned 12) has been published by Boom Studios so far, we only know the basic premise: A berserker who has lived since ancient times is now donating his unstoppable fighting skills to the U.S. government in exchange for help researching his past. The comic is co-written by Reeves and Matt Kindt, with art by Ron Garney, and Reeves told EW that the idea came to him as a blood-soaked mental image: “A character that could punch through someone’s chest and come out of their back, or a fight sequence where they could rip someone’s arm off, or cleave someone in half.”
Reeves will star as the titular warrior in the live-action BRZRKR film and reprise his role for a voice part in the anime series. It’s the latest addition to his busy schedule; having just recently completed production on the much-anticipated fourth Matrix film, Reeves is set to begin production on John Wick 4 this spring.
In the meantime, you can have lots of fun reading the BRZRKR comic while you wait for the adaptations. Lots of people already are; the first issue of the series was published earlier this month and has already sold more than 615,000 copies, making it the highest-selling launch in almost 30 years. It’s especially impressive for a new original comic that has nothing to do with Marvel or DC. Reeves remains undefeated.
