Keanu Reeves admits he ‘didn’t write any’ of his new novel and reveals he cried with joy after reading the first draft by China Mieville

Keanu Reeves has admitted he wrote ‘nothing’ in his new novel, recalling ‘crying’ when he first read it.

The 59-year-old actor teamed up with British weird fiction author China Miéville for The Book of Elsewhere, which is inspired by his own BRZRKR comic series.

Keanu explained why he chose to have his collaborator write the story, saying he got emotional when his favorite author handed him a copy.

In an interview with The guard newspaper, he said, “I didn’t want to write the book. I wanted another creator to make that journey. So China ended up writing the novel. I didn’t write any of the novel.”

The book, which was released on July 23, tells the story of an immortal warrior who spends millennia trying to understand his own immortality.

The actor teamed up with British weird fiction author China Miéville (pictured) for The Book of Elsewhere, which is inspired by his own BRZRKR comic series

The duo first met in Berlin in 2021 and discussed China’s initial concept in a series of Zoom meetings. The author admitted that it took him some time to understand Keanu’s ideas.

But in the end, Keanu was very happy with the end result.

He exclaimed, ‘I thought, “I’m reading a ‘BRZRKR’ China Miéville novel! Yeah! What, what, what? And then like, why am I crying? Why do I feel so bad?’

“‘And what is that? And what is that? Wait, I have to… what is that f****** word? Oh, yeah. Awesome.'”

Keanu’s comic was first published in 2021 with writer Matt Kindt and artist Ron Garney.

China’s writing style has been described as ‘new strange fiction’ and his novels span several genres, from American westerns to detective noir.

His “weird fiction” style dovetails well with the actor’s comic books, which revolve around Berzerker, an immortal hybrid of God and man with a strong tendency toward violence that affects his mental health.

The character eventually joins the U.S. government to uncover the truth about his life. BRZRKR is being turned into a Netflix live-action series.

Keanu explained why he chose to have his collaborator write the story, revealing that he became emotional when his favorite author handed him a copy (pictured with his comic)

Keanu was very pleased with the end result. He exclaimed, ‘I thought, “I’m reading a ‘BRZRKR’ China Miéville novel! Yeah! What, what, what? And then I think, why am I crying?”

In 2021, it was announced that Netflix would be developing a live-action film based on the comic, with Keanu set to star.

Keanu previously described his comic book series BRZRKR as “an investigation into” violence, examining how violence is used and controlled.

“We look at violence in the impetus of violence and how it is used, and how it is attempted to be controlled,” Reeves said People in 2021. ‘And when we try to understand the character, we may not be able to identify with him, with the idea that he is immortal, but we can identify with the idea that we want to be immortal.’

The A-list actor told the media that people can relate to the idea of ​​the imagination of immortality, which fuels the storyline of BRZRKR.

“We have vampire stories that talk about that,” he said. “But that’s part of the human condition, whether it’s the life circumstances of our mortality or the human wish fulfillment that we don’t have mortality.

‘In the context of violence, which is everywhere, it’s survival, it’s conquering, it’s eating. So it’s everywhere, and we’re trying to look at it from different… It’s an investigation into it.’

Keanu captured the internet’s hearts again last year when an adorable video surfaced of the actor meeting a nine-year-old superfan at a comic book store

Kindt said he, Reeves and Kindt have been working on the project for “at least two years,” much of it remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Keanu captured the internet’s hearts again last year when an adorable video surfaced of the actor meeting a nine-year-old superfan in a comic book store.

YouTuber Noah of Noah’s Amazing Reviews got the chance to meet his favorite actor at a BRZRKR signing in March 2023 at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles.

The young man was overjoyed when he met the actor, who surprised him with a short imitation of his character from Toy Story 4.