The Netflix BRZRKR Movie Has A Writer!

Whether or not you’re one of the people who believe he’s an ancient vampire frozen in youth, you have to admit Keanu Reeves has been a huge part of some of our favorite things for quite a while. His performance as Neo was that rare perfect combination of powerless nerd wish fulfillment and stoic super hero. Constantine was a movie that shouldn’t have been as good as it was, but once again, Keanu busted out some incredible violence and general gruffness. And things just kept going that way. Through John Wick, Cyberpunk 2077, even that time he was a tumbleweed in The Spongebob Movie. And now the upcoming Netflix BRZRKR movie has a writer!

What’s BRZRKR About? 

BRZRKR is the work of Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney and follows a half-man half-god named B who is compelled to do violence as he searches for answers about himself. B starts working with the US government and we get to see him really lean into that potential for immense violence. B kind of has the feel of a more unhinged Wolverine. He’s angry, confused about his past, and has both dismembered people and been dismembered. In the comic, B’s likeness is based on Keanu Reeves. BRZRKR gives you the rare opportunity to see Alex from The Lakehouse have his arms and legs ripped off by men on horses. And now, this comic that is recognized across the board for its intense violence, is getting a live-action Netflix movie. 

Image via Boom! Studios.

The Netflix BRZRKR Movie Has A Writer!

Mattson Tomlin will write the live-action BRZRKR movie. His other credits include the upcoming The Batman movie with Chris Pattinson and also an animated Mega Man movie? As wild of a combination those two credits are, if you combine them and add so much more violence, you do have some of the flavor of BRZRKR. B is a creature beyond humanity, gifted with incredible power and a purpose he is driven by even if he doesn’t understand. He has Batman’s bubbly personality and Mega Man’s entire-body-is-a-weapon situation. Tomlin is also the writer behind the first episode of the upcoming Terminator series and the writer for Mother/Android, a movie about two soon-to-be parents fleeing a war with androids. So overall, Tomlin sounds like he has the writerly range to produce something that captures one of the biggest draws from the original comics: there’s violence, a lot of it, but the characters being splashed  by that blood have some depth.

Beyond the writer news, Reeves will be  a producer and actor for the upcoming. That makes sense. It would be a little weird if Netflix made a BRZRKR movie and ignored the exact character’s face right in front of them. He will also be voicing the character in an anime spinoff of the same property. That means he’ll have been B in print, animation, and live-action. Throw in a video game, and Keanu will have hit the same level of character saturation that he did with Neo. In a recent interview Reeves talked about some of his plans for the live-action movie and how it has been working with Netflix on it. The movie is going to be rated R, which honestly feels like a given. There are some stories that can do without all the violence, but for BRZRKR it’s literally a plot point. He also noted that there will be differences between the comics and the movie. B may be the same, but other aspects of the story may go in different directions. 

Image via Boom! Studios.

For those that are disappointed that the movie won’t just be actors giving motion to the moments between the panels, they’ll have something else to enjoy as the animated series progresses. The animated series is also probably going to go in different directions considering Keanu said as much. However, it’s still the same character, the same rules, just with more avenues for development and new ways to enjoy it. That means more of the stuff you love from the original series and probably some new good stuff too. Maybe we’ll get a quicker payoff about B’s backstory in the movie. Maybe the animated version will have B compete with Death in a game of Battleship for B’s mortality. We’ll know more when Keanu wills it. 

What’s your favorite Keanu  movie? Tell us about it in the comments below! 

Featured image via Boom! Studios

Jessica Kanzler is a freelance writer and editor who lives with her wife and cats. Jessica has bad taste in tv and an MA in Rhetoric, Writing, and Digital Media studies. Talk to her about Frasier on Twitter @Jessicaakanzler