Back in March, word broke that Keanu Reeves was teaming up with Netflix on a film adaptation of BRZRKR, based on the comic he launched at BOOM! Studios earlier this year with co-writer Matt Kindt and artist Ron Garney. There hasn’t been a lot of new info on the project since then. But with the series’ first trade paperback volume hitting stores today, Reeves was able to share a major announcement while speaking with Collider. During the interview, Reeves revealed that Mattson Tomlin has come aboard as the movie’s screenwriter.
BRZRKR centers on B, a demigod cursed to wander the Earth and lead a life of endless bloodshed. But when the U.S. government offers him the chance to escape his tortured existence, he agrees to become their own personal agent of chaos in exchange for a way out. Reeves noted that it’s still early in BRZRKR’s development process, so Tomlin is “just starting to put things together.” However, he promised that it will stick close to the comic’s brutal tone.
“We’re working with Netflix who have been very cool,” said Reeves. “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.”
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Reeves also provided an update on the BRZRKR anime series that Netflix is developing alongside the movie.
“We’re talking to a couple of different animation companies and trying to figure that out,” added Reeves. “And, again, 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. 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.”
Tomlin has prior experience working on comic book adaptations. He previously worked with Matt Reeves on the script for The Batman; and just last year, he put a novel spin on the superhero genre as the writer behind Netflix’s Project Power. Next week, Tomlin will release the first issue of his own DC Black Label miniseries, Batman: The Imposter, which features artwork by Andrea Sorrentino.
Do you think Tomlin is a good choice to adapt BRZRKR? Which studio should tackle the anime series? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: BRZRKR Vol. 1
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