Filmmaker Justin Lin, who is best known for directing five Fast and Furious films has onboarded the live-action adaptation of BRZRKR, the comic book created and co-written by Keanu Reeves. Apart from starring in the lead role, The Matrix actor will also be producing along with Stephen Christy for Boom! Studios, Stephen Hamel of Company Films and Ross Richie. Lin also serves as the producer through his Perfect Storm banner.
Reeves, who co-wrote BRZRKR along with Matt Kindt, is reuniting with Lin after the actor became an angel investor in the director’s recent drama Last days. The Batman 2 co-writer Mattson Tomlin scripted the story.
According to the makers, BRZRKR is a "is a brutally epic saga about an immortal warrior’s 80,000-year fight through the ages."
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 earth for centuries, B 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.
The comic book had illustrations by Marvel artist Ron Garney and colors by Bill Crabtree, letters by Clem Robins and character designs and covers by Rafael Grampá. The first issue is one of the best-selling comics for a decade and has sold over 6,00,000 copies. The title itself has sold over 3.5 million worldwide, per Boom! Along with a live-action film, an anime spinoff is also in development.
Lin started his career with intense independent films before rising to Hollywood prominence by directing five Fast & Furious movies, playing a key role in transforming the franchise into a multi-billion-dollar success for Universal. His directing credits also include Star Trek Beyond, episodes of True Detective, and the pilot for the Magnum P.I. reboot, all produced through his company, Perfect Storm.