Keanu Reeves Teaming With Sci-Fi Author For First Novel
Keanu Reeves can act, perform his own stunts, and even play a mean bass guitar. But that’s not all he can do. Being a man of many talents, the Matrix star has recently worked with British science-fiction author China Miéville on his literary debut, The Book of Elsewhere.
The Book of Elsewhere And BRZRKR
The upcoming novel will be an extension of Reeves’ very own BRZRKR comic book series, which he co-created with Matt Kindt.
Now is a good time to check out Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR comics. Currently, 12 comics across three volumes will serve as an excellent primer for The Book of Elsewhere. The subject matter for the novel will expand on the universe established in the comic books.
A Warrior, Berzerker
While we don’t know the granular details of Keanu Reeves’ The Book of Elsewhere, we do know that it will center on a warrior named Berzerker who fights through the ages as he tries to understand his own immortality.
And if the novel ends up being a resounding success like the BRZRKR comics have been, then it’s not outside the realm of possibility that there will be more books to follow.
After all, issue #1 sold over 615,000 copies in 2021 after raising $1.45 million on Kickstarter, making it the highest-selling original comic book launch in almost 30 years.
Creative Collaboration
Speaking highly about his collaboration with China Miéville, Keanu Reeves stated that the author did an exceptional job mapping out the story and taking the lore to a new level.
It’s not uncommon for collaborators on a creative project to not see eye-to-eye, but in this case it sounds like everything worked out better than expected.
Running With The Premise
Miéville, who holds the record for the most Arthur C Clarke Awards, expressed a similar sentiment about Keanu Reeves.
Though BRZRKR is very much a Keanu Reeves creation, Miéville expressed quite a bit of gratitude over how receptive Reeves was to his ideas.
Referring to the writing process as being able to play a game with somebody else’s toys, Miéville is beyond thrilled that Keanu Reeves trusted his artistic instinct and let him run with the premise.
Live-Action BRZRKR
If you’re not much of a reader, there’s plenty more BRZRKR coming where that came from.
Back in 2021, Netflix announced that they were developing a live-action film adaptation of the comic book with Keanu Reeves cast for the lead role.
Shortly thereafter, it was announced that a follow-up anime series based on the intellectual property will also be in the works.
At the time of this writing, there is no set release date, or even many production updates for the upcoming Keanu Reeves film. Since the comic book series just saw its finale this past October, it’s reasonable to assume that the live-action and anime adaptations will pick up where they left off.
Keanu Reeves Franchises
From the Matrix and John Wick films to BRZRKR, it’s clear that Keanu Reeves can turn anything he touches into a successful media franchise. We’re starting to wonder if he’s immortal himself because no ordinary man should be able to possess that much talent.
The Book of Elsewhere will be published on July 23, 2024.
Source: The Guardian
