Keanu Reeves, the BRZRKR comic books tell the story of an immortal warrior, Berzerker, who embarks on a blood-soaked quest to discover the origins of his existence. The violent comic series, which is published by BOOM! Studios, marks Reeves' comic-writing debut, with Kindt serving as co-writer and Garney providing the illustrations.
Early last year, Netflix announced that it was adapting BRZRKR into both an anime show and a live-action movie. In addition to playing the live-action version of Berzerker, Reeves is also lending his voice talents to the anime. Little is known about both adaptations at this point but it was confirmed at the comics' SDCC that the anime would be produced by Production I.G., best known for its work on Ghost in the Shell and Attack on Titan: Junior High. The BRZRKR anime is also already confirmed to consist of 2 seasons and both projects are expected to maintain the comics' violent aesthetic and tone.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Kindt and Garney delve more into the differences between the BRZRKR anime and the comics, teasing that the show is "taking on a life of its own." While not revealing too many details, Kindt explains that the show is "similar but very different," and that, even in its early stages, it looks "amazing." Similarly, Garney says that the show is "growing and growing" and that watching it unfold has been a very positive experience. Check out Kindt and Garney's full comments below:
Matt Kindt: "I don't know anything. But I'll say I did look at something that looked amazing. I'm not gonna say anything about it. But what was cool was to see them take our thing, and then turn it into something similar but very different. Just the look of it, and the visuals."
Ron Garney: "It's like watching evolution. Evolution takes millions of years, but in this case, it's like seeing it happen before your eyes. It's just taking on a life of its own and growing and growing and growing; taking different forms. It's pretty amazing."
It's unclear when either the BRZRKR anime series or movie will be released, but the comments from Kindt and Garney would suggest that progress on the show is going well. While neither co-creator is directly involved in bringing the anime to life, their initial impressions seem to suggest that the show is taking what they created with the comics and building it into something that is both familiar and new at the same time. Neither artist touch on any specifics with the BRZRKR story, but visually, the anime sounds like it's in a very good place.
Reeves is best known as a live-action star, headlining the beloved John Wick franchise and recently appearing in The Matrix Resurrections, so it will be interesting to see him make his anime debut. Although neither Kindt nor Garney discusses Reeves' role in the anime, the trio of BRZRKR projects across 3 different mediums will make for an exciting and unique form of storytelling. It remains to be seen how the BRZRKR adaptations will turn out when they are eventually released on Netflix but the comments from comics' co-creators certainly suggest fans are in for a treat.