In March 2021, Netflix announced that it acquired the rights to adapt Keanu Reeves' original comic, BRZRKR. Things have been quiet since then, but on Friday new information has been announced! During the “Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR: The Immortal Saga Continues” panel at San Diego Comic-Con, fans learned that not only is the project continuing, but will be in the form of both an anime movie and anime series! Reeves is set to star in both with the plan for the anime series to span two seasons.
BRZRKR is an ongoing comic series that is written by Reeves and Matt Kindt (MIND MGMT). Ron Garney (Wolverine) is credited as artist of the series, with Bill Crabtree as colorist, Clem Robins as Letterer, and Rafael Grampá as the cover artist. Boom Studios’ official website describes the comic as such.
A WAR WITH NO END. The man known only as B. is half-mortal and half-God, cursed and compelled to violence…even at the sacrifice of his sanity. But after wandering the world for centuries, the Berzerker may have finally found a refuge – working for the U.S. government to fight the battles too violent and too dangerous for anyone else. In exchange, B. will be granted the one thing he desires – the truth about his endless blood-soaked existence…and how to end it.
Carnage at the End of the World
BRZRKR will be produced by Production I.G.. The studio has a long history, involving numerous contribution to various OVAs, films, and anime shows. It’s most prominently known for Ghost in the Shell, Guilty Crown, Eden of the East, Psycho-Pass, and Haikyu!!. The studio also has credit in various live action series, music videos, and video games.
The adaptation will start with a feature film, an anime spinoff series following shortly after. According to Anime News Network, Netflix added in that the anime series “will further expand the BRZRKR universe by exploring different elements of the story. In the series, Reeves will reprise his role and voice his character”. In October 2021, Reeves spoke with IGN about working on the comic and how the series was open to explore new territory story-wise. Perhaps the anime will be exploring those topics that Reeves and his team had to cut due to the series being limited to twelve issues.
“I felt that by setting up that he was born 80,000 years ago, there is this perspective there. There's a lot of places that we can go from there, and opportunities that we can go to. Which is fantastic. The first four issues were an origin story and of the modern day, the way the scientists and government are studying him. Now that we've done that we can go to chapter two and kind of push that forward.”
Since its release in March 2021, BRZRKR ran a healthy 12-issue limited series, with a successful Kickstarter-funded graphic novel volume release. When Netflix initially purchased the rights, the plan was for the adaptation to be a live-action series with Reeves in the starring role. Whether it was budget, creative differences, or the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the direction has shifted into a full anime adaptation for both properties.