Keanu Reeves Is Bringing His ‘Rated-R’ Comic Book Superhero to Life Before Joining the MCU
There have been plenty of rumors about Keanu Reeves joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But before he takes on any Marvel role, the actor is bringing his own comic book character — BRZRKR — to life for Netflix.
Keanu Reeves created ‘BRZRKR’ for Boom! Comics
Reeves is an actor, writer, and musician. But in 2020, the 57-year-old superstar added comic book creator to his list of accomplishments.
BRZRKR — the new Boom! series he wrote and created with Matt Kindt and Ron Garney — started as a Kickstarter campaign, receiving a whopping $1.45 million in fan funding. And when the first issue of the comic dropped in March 2021, it became the highest-selling original title of the century, with over 650,000 copies sold.
BRZRKR tells the story of a half-God half-human called B, or Berzerker. The immortal warrior, who looks a lot like Reeves, fought against numerous armies in the last 80,000 years. Now, in the present, he works with the US government and takes on assignments deemed too dangerous for anyone else.
The first 12 issues of the comic book series are being published as three 4-issue arcs. The first four issues were collected and released as a graphic novel on Oct. 5, 2021.
‘BRZRKR’ is coming to Netflix
Netflix is adapting BRZRKR for two projects — a live-action film and an anime series. Reeves will executive produce and star in both. And in a recent chat with Collider, he revealed that while he wants the film and series to stay true to some of the comic’s elements, he also wants the writers and directors working on the projects to bring in their own flavor and tone.
“We’re working with Netflix, who have been very cool,” Reeves said. “They’re going to let us do an R-rated story which is cool. 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.”
“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,” he added. “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.”
Reeves noted that he and the BRZRKR team are in the process of finding an animation company to work with. And he revealed that they hired Project Power screenwriter Mattson Tomlin for the live-action film.
Keanu Reeves isn’t working on any MCU films in the next year
Reeves is currently filming John Wick 4. And in his interview with Collider, he suggested he may begin filming BRZRKR as soon as June of 2022. But he also revealed that after completing the John Wick sequel, he has nothing lined up.
With that said, it’s safe to assume that he isn’t working on any MCU projects in 2022, which means he may end playing B before taking on a Marvel superhero. But that’s not to say Reeves’ MCU debut won’t happen eventually. Because, along with fans, Marvel boss Kevin Feige is eager to bring the actor into the fold.
“We talk to him for almost every film we make,” Feige told ComicBook.com in 2019. “We talk to Keanu Reeves…I don’t know when, if, or ever he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it.”
