With plenty of action franchise experience behind him, Keanu Reeves is gearing up to star in a movie adaptation of BRZRKR. Having sold over 615,000 copies of its first issue since its launch in 2021, the comic book was created by Reeves and Matt Kindt as a 12-issue miniseries. Following a man only known as “B,” whose appearance was inspired by Reeves, the series follows the half-mortal, half-god during his 80,000-year fight through the ages. BRZRKR movie just landed its director in Justin Lin, with him taking the helm for Netflix’s adaptation.
Having helped create the story and provide the likeness for B, Reeves’ involvement as the star is no surprise. With prominent roles such as Neo, John Constantine, and John Wick, Keanu Reeves is no stranger to action movies. His previous experience in action roles, combined with Lin’s background with the Fast and Furious franchise, provides years of expertise to bring BRZRKR to life properly. Now it will be a proper franchise that Reeves can center, as Netflix also announced a separate anime show for BRZRKR.
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In John Wick: Chapter 4, John seemingly meets his end, with his gravestone being shown at the end. While rumors and theories continue to swirl about Wick faking his death, Keanu has stated that Wick indeed died, leaving Ballerina’s cameo as Wick’s final appearance. Moving from one franchise to the next, Reeves has a chance to start from scratch, using his own work and characters. Nobody knows B as well as Wick does, making this the perfect follow-up role after his time as John Wick.
Lin has had experience with huge franchises, directing five Fast and Furious movies. His ability to showcase fast-paced action makes him a perfect choice to kick off this potential franchise.
With the anime announced, Netflix clearly has a plan for how it wants to utilize BRZRKR. The involvement of Justin Lin as the director shows that they don’t view this as a standalone opportunity. Lin has had experience with huge franchises, directing five Fast and Furious movies. His ability to showcase fast-paced action makes him a perfect choice to kick off this potential franchise. If the movie is a success, it could launch Reeves’ original IP to heights unknown, giving Reeves’ ever-growing resume another franchise.
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From Reeves’ casting, to Lin being tabbed as director, to Mattson Tomlin, screenwriter for The Batman Part II, being attached to write the script, Netflix is doing all it can to set BRZRKR up for success. Despite being relatively new compared to other IP making the transition from comics to movies, it has a massive fanbase due to Reeves’ star power and its amazing, yet brutal, action. Netflix is taking its time developing projects in their new universe, ensuring that they do it the right way.
Are you more excited for the BRZRKR movie or animated series?
Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR comics are brilliant, and I knew immediately that they would make for a great screen adaptation, but never expected to be getting both a live-action movie and animated series. For a story like this, I think that both will be entertaining. Animation can go absolutely crazy when it comes to violence, but will also allow fans to have more time with the characters and give the writers more time to worldbuild. Though I think the film will be great, and hopefully a full franchise like John Wick, I am more looking forward to the animated series.
Considering the context, BRZRKR has easily become one of Reeve’s most anticipated movies. Acting in a movie based on his own comic feels like a dream role for Reeves, giving him the chance to showcase everything he wants the character to be and carry out his vision. As a role, B is a great character for Reeves, who has excelled at playing thoughtful, sometimes taciturn men who express themselves through their physicality and violence. Even if he hadn’t co-created BRZRKR, it’s hard to think of a better actor to carry the weight of the centuries, as B does, than Reeves.