2020 has been a rough one for the entertainment industry.

The pandemic slowed down or outright halted production on a whole bunch of movies and television shows we’d all been anticipating, and made it impossible to go to the movies and see the stuff that has already been made. Quarantine started with The Last Dance and Tiger King, but now that fall is here, pickings are going to be slim.

So when we get a taste of something new, it’s easy to get excited. Especially when that new footage looks so good. Last week, a trailer for The Mandalorian’s second season premiered, and it looks just as bad-ass as the first season. Its October premiere can’t come soon enough. Now Disney+ is has dropped the first trailer for WandaVision, coming later this year, which has a decidedly different feel from most previous Marvel properties but looks like a lot of fun.

It’s a blend of something all right, and it looks weird AF, opening with Wanda and Vision living in 50s domestic bliss right out of an old-fashioned family sitcom and cycles through a series of shots of what appears to be different decades of TV, before ending with some ominous glimpses of portals and police of some kind.

The series has been described by Marvel as “mega event series,” and the official synopsis reads: The series is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

Especially since it takes place after Endgame and will have to reckon with the fact that Vision was killed at the end of Infinity War (and not by the snap that was magically reversed).

It’s clear things aren’t quite what they seem, and that this show is bursting with creativity, so there’s bound to be a fun explanation for his return.

Check out the trailer for the show, which looks like a real trip. In a year in which real-life couldn’t get any weirder, the touch of the surreal might be just what the doctor ordered.

Superheroes are far more than just fictional characters in a nonexistent universe. Superheroes remind us that no matter how much garbage there is in the world, there will always be good guys fighting for us. They remind us that you don’t have to look a certain way to be a hero because being a hero is entirely about your actions. The Black Panther made waves as the first mainstream Black superhero, giving Black youth a Marvel hero they could identify with.

We’ve all come to love Ryan Reynolds’ smartass yet kind-hearted ways. And his portrayal of Deadpool gave us another relatable hero, one who showed us that scars really are only skin deep. Though often self-deprecating, Deadpool was undoubtedly a badass. His love interest, Vanessa Carlysle, was unbothered by his scarred appearance, which helped Deadpool become more accepting of himself. Recently, med student, cosplayer extraordinaire, and self-proclaimed “Burn-Thriver” John Quinn of Millington, Tennessee gave us the most personal, concrete example of just how influential these relatable superheroes can be.

17 years ago, John Quinn was seriously burned across his face and body. He shared in an inspiring Instagram post, “I’ve been burned longer than I have been alive not burned. This part of who I am that I’ve learned to love and embrace. I don’t need to escape my reality because I absolutely love it. It’s taken years to get this way, and pity I know is inevitable to receive at times, but just know I am not a victim.”

 

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Sometimes I catch myself wondering what I would have looked like if I were not burned so severely. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy what I look like now. It’s just a curious thought that can have no real answer. I’m proud of who I am, I don’t need a answer. People always say “I’m so sorry that happened to you”, yeah it sucked no doubt, definitely one of the most debilitating painful moments of my life, but that isn’t the point. The point is, I was burned about 17 years ago. I’ve been burned longer than I have been alive not burned. This part of who I am that I’ve learned to love and embrace. I don’t need to escape my reality because I absolutely love it. It’s taken years to get this way, and pity I know is inevitable to receive at times, but just know I am not a victim. I love what I look like. It’s opened so many doors for me in my life and career. I’m sure I would have not helped as many people as I have now if I were not burned. Being burned was not the end for me, it was just a new beginning. So do I miss what I looked like? No. But there were times I did. It’s okay to grieve over your losses, but that is not me anymore. I don’t want anyone to be sorry for me, because I am thriving. I know who I am and my purpose in this world. I love being burned, trauma has given me such a great sense of humor, and I can laugh at just about anything. It is not a coping mechanism, it is just how I view the world and myself. I’m not a sensitive person. I would rather be hated on then pitied. It’s quite liberating to start taking ownership of who you are. You give words meaning, not others. Don’t forget to be a friend to yourself and practice self compassion. I love what I look like, I really do. I know some people might be baffled about it, but it’s true. They probably won’t understand because they aren’t me. But I have understanding on a lot of this. It does not matter in the long run, because I don’t run away from my problems anymore. I’m not that same insecure boy. I’m a man with fire scars. And if you get heart burn after reading this post, it just means I touched your heart🔥💙 I’m not your average guy, I’m not ashamed of who I am and neither should you🔥

A post shared by Ｊｏｈｎｎｙ 🔥 (@jadiant) on Aug 2, 2020 at 9:53am PDT

Quinn’s strength and positivity is nothing short of extraordinary, and he credits Deadpool for helping him own his scars. To honor his favorite superhero, Quinn pulled off an incredible Deadpool cosplay, even learning to do the splits for his epic photoshoot. Aside from transforming into his favorite superhero, Quinn had another dream – he hoped to get the picture to Reynolds himself, letting him know just how much Deadpool’s character changed his life for the better. A few months after his initial post, Quinn got his wish.

 

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It would make my dream come true if @vancityreynolds got to see this post! I learned to do the splits just for this photo. Deadpool has honestly made me way more confident. Anyone who has read or watched anything about Deadpool, knows his face and body are pretty messed up. So it’s only natural that I cosplay him. I wanted to be authentic as possible, and that was to not wear a mask. It’s so easy to cover up who I am, and to give In to despair. Deadpool just makes me not care about that stuff and show my true self. This is me, and I’m not Ashamed about it. Deadpool is icy clean, and he’s helped my self esteem so much. I’m owning who I am, and cosplaying Deadpool makes it that much easier.

A post shared by Ｊｏｈｎｎｙ 🔥 (@jadiant) on Jan 24, 2020 at 12:22pm PST

Sliding into the comments of Quinn’s incredible cosplay photo, Reynolds commented, “Holy sh*t, Jadiant, this made my YEAR. Can’t even describe what this post means to me. Also, I can do the splits… but only once a year. And it has to be in the lobby of a hospital.”

Of course, Quinn was beyond thrilled that he got Reynolds’s attention. He replied, “BROOO I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SEEN IT! You made this so worth it. I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO INSPIRE SO MANY OTHERS.”

The costume was amazing, the response was above and beyond – but possibly the best part of all of this is that Quinn is a hero in his own right. Inspired by Deadpool, Quinn embraces himself fully. Now, he works with the Courageous Faces Foundation, inspiring others just as Deadpool inspired him. So yes, Reynolds will continue to inspire so many others – but so will Quinn.

Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: There’s a boatload of Marvel characters if you take into account everyone in the comic books. Legitimately. There are over 300 characters — heroes, villains, and everyone in between. Shoot. Even if you just consider everyone from MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and X-Men, the roster is pretty hefty. These days, though, when most people say “Marvel” they mean MCU or, more specifically, the Avengers and all the characters associated with them. Today we’re focusing on those characters.

From the moment we first met Iron Man and his comrades, we’ve considered ourselves friends of all MCU characters, especially the Avengers. We’re even fans of some of the more troublesome and villainous guys. Sure, we could take the super spindly Loki in a bar fight and we’re a little perturbed with how many second chances he’s been given. But, he seems like he’d be a great guy to drink with and cause a little trouble. And, speaking of drinking, Hawkeye would make the most excellent darts partner in the history of darts. And trivia night? Hulk SMASH the competition. He has a Ph. D., after all.

If we’re going to be friends with these guys, though, we probably need to learn their names. Their real names, that is. While most of us know who Tony Stark and Peter Parker are, fewer people know who we’re talking about when we say Hank or Clint. So, in case you’re having a hard time keeping track of all your Marvel superheroes and their real names, don’t worry, we have your back.

BTW: We haven’t forgotten anyone – we’ll just be updating the list periodically. Even characters who only have one name, instead of “real names” and superhero or villain alter egos.

Marvel Characters and Their Real Names

The MCU Avengers, Guardians & Friends

Agent Coulson – Phil Coulson
Ant-Man – Hank Pym
Black Panther – T’Challa
Black Widow – Natasha Romanoff
Captain America – Steve Rogers
Captain Marvel – Carol Danvers
Deadpool – Wade Wilson
Doctor Strange – Steven Strange
Drax – Same
Falcon – Sam Wilson
Gamora – Same
Goliath – Bill Foster (He’s just Dr. Foster in Ant-Man, but it’s worth noting)
Groot – Just Groot
Happy – Harold Hogan
Hawkeye – Clint Barton
Heimdall – Same
Hulk – Bruce Banner
Iron Man – Tony Stark
Mantis – Same
Nakia – Same
Nick Fury – Same
Odin – Odin Borson
Okoya – Same
Pepper – Virginia “Pepper” Potts
Quicksilver – Pietro Maximoff
Rocket – Same
Scarlet Witch – Wanda Maximoff
Shuri – Same
Space-Lord – Peter Quill
Spider-Man – Peter Parker
Thor – Thor Odinson
Valkyrie – Same
Vision – Same
War Machine – James Rhodes
Wasp – Janet Van Dyne
Winter Soldier/White Wolf – Bucky Barnes

MCU Bad Guys

Ego – Ego The Living Planet
Ghost – Ava Starr
Hela – Odinsdottir
Killmonger – Erik Killmonger/N’Jadaka
Korath – Same
Loki – Loki Odinson
Nebula – Same
Ronan – Ronan The Accuser
Shocker – Herman Schultz
Talos – Same
Thanos – Same
The Collector – Taneleer Tivan
The Grandmaster – En Dwi Gast
Ulysses Klaue – Same
Ultron – Ultron
Vulture – Adrian Toomes
Yondu – Same

The DC Fandome experience had a little something for everyone.

We got the new Wonder Woman trailer, which looks bright and fun and funny, we got The Batman trailer, which looks dark and intense and serial killery, and we got the Snyder cut trailer, which looks like the most important movie ever made (at least according to the director!). We even got glimpses of Black Adam, a new Suicide Squad, Shazam 2 (Fury of the Gods!), and some teases for the forthcoming Flash movie, which will include multiple Batmans.

Which begs the question: how will all of these movies fit together?

Well, according to the president of DC Films, they won’t. While there will be a whole bunch of movies based on DC characters, they won’t all exist within the same universe. The DCEU is one thing, The Batman, Joker, the Gotham HBO show are another.

Walter Hamada runs the DC movies, and he is committed to spreading the wealth and not having every story connect to every other story. He started it off by explaining how The Flash opens things up into the multiverse concept DC is running with, especially after Ezra Miller – movie Flash – made an appearance on the Flash TV show with Grant Gustin.

“I knew how meaningful this would be to the fans because Flash created the multiverse… “It became the situation where fans just want to see the characters, you can have The Flash on TV and in movies… and, going forward, there are more opportunities to do this and use the medium in ways we haven’t used it before.”

On HBO Max, the DC section is even called “The DC Multiverse,” which is an indication of how they plan to make these disparate movies work together, even when they don’t.

“What the multiverse means is we can tell these great stories where we can tell different stories. There’s one earth where have Gal and Ezra… and another where we can have Year Two Batman… and then there’s Joker, which isn’t part of either continuity,” he said. “Matt Reeves can continue to build out his Gotham [in The Batman]. Those are things that we can do because we don’t have to worry about how that would impact Aquaman 2 or The Flash, because it’s all just part of the multiverse.”

It’s an interesting, comic-based way of differentiating themselves from Marvel, especially after they rushed the big team-up movie, skipping years of foundation to immediately give us the Justice League before Wonder Woman or The Flash had standalone movies of their own. Call it a backtrack or a course-correction or whatever, DC is moving full-steam ahead with an ecosystem where there can be standalone stories and an extended universe.

“Our focus is telling great stories. If it would work as an Elseworld, we would do that. It’s when the right filmmaker and the right story come together.”

It’s a good idea. Here’s hoping the movies are good enough to make it work.

Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death from colon cancer, after a private four-year fight with the disease, left fans, friends, and children all over the globe stunned by his sudden loss.

As King T’Challa of Wakanda, aka Black Panther, Boseman had made an enormous impact on children everywhere, particularly black children who’d been yearning to see themselves reflected in the big-screen superhero universe.

Boseman and Black Panther were set up to have an even bigger role in the MCU as Marvel moved past Endgame and reformulated the Avengers team to shift focus from the original crew (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye) and presumably focus on the new guard, of which Black Panther was sure to take center stage. Production on Black Panther 2 was set to begin this fall, and outside of Boseman’s family and friends, perhaps no one who’ll feel his loss more greatly than the team behind the MCU and Marvel itself.

One talented fan created a short video poignantly illustrating Black Panther’s place in the Marvel firmament. The video, posted to Mark Cannataro Films’ Twitter account, shows the superhero arriving at the Pearly Gates to be greeted by none other than the father of Marvel itself, the late Stan Lee.

Lee greets his hero with the Wakanda salute, and together the pair enters heaven side by side.

Check it out, and try not to cry:

RIP Chadwick Boseman#ripchadwickboseman #blackpanther #stanlee pic.twitter.com/PtS6ckFREt

— Mark Cannataro Films (@mcannatarofilms) September 2, 2020

Every year, DC holds Batman Day, a day devoted to the Dark Knight. It doesn’t matter if you’re camp Keaton, Bale, or Affleck, it’s a day for all Bruce Wayne fans to unite and celebrate.

The first one was in June of 2014, coinciding with the superhero’s 75th anniversary and a celebration at Comic-Con. This year marks the 7th day devoted to Bruce Wayne’s alter ego, and DC has announced that it will take place in less than a month. This year’s Batman Day is September 19, 2020, and DC is rolling out some perks to go with it.

According to their press release, Batman Day will see the launch of DC’s partnership with Waze, the popular navigation app.

“For the first time, fans have the opportunity to drive along with a “Batman and The Riddler” theme on Waze. And to complete the experience, you can listen to the Waze and DC Super Hero or Super-Villain playlists on Spotify while driving via the Waze Audio Player feature.

The new Waze Batman theme allows for more than 100 million monthly active Waze users to ride along with Batman and The Riddler from August 31 to October 31. Waze drivers can opt to hear directions in the style of Batman, voiced by Batman: The Animated Series actor Kevin Conroy, as well as select a custom Batmobile icon and Batman mood. Drivers who want a slightly more villainous experience can select The Riddler voice directions (voiced by actor Wally Wingert), mood and custom vehicle. Waze users worldwide can experience the Batman theme in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.”

On top of that, fans will be able to acquire free digital comics, participate in a Batman Virtual 5K/10K Run/Walk, and help solve an online mystery by deciphering clues left by The Riddler on social media, allowing fans to unlock exclusive, time-limited treats. The mystery launches on 12 PM PT, September 18, at @Dccomics on Twitter.

The press release details a variety of other exciting activities and tie-ins across the world, so fans everywhere can celebrate the World’s Greatest Detective, as they eagerly await the 2021 release of both Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Matt Reeves’s The Batman.

It will be a while before those are available to watch, but hopefully, Batman Day will help keep fans satisfied until then!

Yesterday, DC held the first day of their FanDome event online, and it didn’t disappoint.

The all-virtual event featured hours of content, including new trailers for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Matt Reeves’s The Batman, and Wonder Woman 1984, all of which are set to premiere in 2021. James Gunn, fresh off Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, brought a sizzle reel for the sequel to Suicide Squad. The directors of each film stopped by to discuss their projects before showing off their footage, and fans were buzzing all day long.

Let’s start with The Suicide Squad 2’s trailer, which contains a few familiar faces but mostly seems to start over with a brand new assortment of characters and actors.

We’ve already shared the Justice League and Batman trailers, both of which lean into dark and serious tones. In contrast, Wonder Woman 1984 has Kristin Wiig turning into a cheetah from The Island of Dr. Moreau and Chris Pine wearing parachute pants. Wonder Woman 1984 looks like a lot of fun.

While discussing The Batman, Matt Reeves also discussed Gotham, the HBO Max show that will focus on crime in Batman’s town before Batman is around. Needless to say, there’s a lot of it, and it all sounds pretty intense. As does the Gotham Knights video game, which takes place in a world in which Batman is dead and gamers can play as Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood.

Suicide Squad also has a game (due out in 2022), in which players must defeat and evil Superman and Kill the Justice League:

Finally, The Rock showed up to talk about Black Adam, spun off from the Shazam movie and featuring the superstar as a bad guy, or perhaps an anti-hero? The character started as Shazam’s nemesis but has since seen some reinvention. It’s yet to be seen what version we’ll get next December, but based on the teaser that mostly showed us some concept art, he’s gonna look good, and according to the star, may encounter other DC characters like Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher.

The Rock also teased a potential fight against Superman, telling fans that he’s friends with Gal Gadot and would love for Black Adam to team with Wonder Woman and that he “always thought that it might be cool to hang out with Superman. That would be cool right I mean we’re kind of similar in terms of our powers, our strengths our speeds, because look at the end of the day you never know. Black Adam and Superman could become friends, or they won’t. The showdown might not be happening in this first Black Adam movie but somewhere down the line.”

Sounds cool! But perhaps we should wait to say how this slate of DC movies do before we start looking years, and sequels, down the line.

The good news is the DC FanDome event was a success, with a solid share of legitimate footage and exciting news, including details on Netflix’s upcoming The Sandman series.

More news to come on September 12th, with the second part of FanDome, “Explore the Universe.” Get ready!

A few months ago, HBO Max announced that it was actually going to fund the completion and then release Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League. After a years-long campaign to “release the Snydercut,” fans are finally getting what they want.

And today, at the DC FanDome event, the cast reunited with their director to show a trailer of the movie, set to be released in early-to-mid 2021. It was also announced that the four-hour Zack Snyder’s Justice League would be released as a 4-part miniseries before being available as a full movie.

That’s a lot of stuff off the cutting room floor! Maybe it will be more of the same, or maybe it will stand on its own as something vastly different, and even superior to the Franksteined version that was completed and shepherded to theaters by Joss Whedon.

The footage is presented as majestically as possible, set to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. It doesn’t look much different than what we saw, aside from a shot of Darkseid and some screen time from Cyborg, and coupled with Snyder’s re-use of the song he notoriously used for a sex scene in his divisive Watchmen adaptation, it seems like more of the same. Just extra-long and somehow even darker!

Check it out:

Of the big 4 superheroes in DC’s Justice League, only The Flash is without his own movie. That is going to change soon, as the long-delayed Flash flick is finally in motion, to hit screens in the summer of 2022. And he won’t be alone.

The Flash will be joined by Batmans. That is not a typo. There will be multiple Batmans in the movie, is based on the Flashpoint storyline featuring multiple universes – a Flash multiverse, if you will. We already know that Micheal Keaton will be in the movie, reprising his role as Batman from the Tim Burtonverse, and now we the rumors that Ben Affleck will also be appearing in the movie, reprising his role as Batfleck from the Snyderverse, have been confirmed.

According to Vanity Fair, Flashpoint will see Barry Allen, aka The Flash, “crashing into parallel dimensions,” and encountering different versions of Batman within each one. Including Batfleck.

“He’s a very substantial part of the emotional impact of the movie. The interaction and relationship between Barry and Affleck’s Wayne will bring an emotional level that we haven’t seen before,” director Andy Muschietti (IT) told the magazine “It’s Barry’s movie, it’s Barry’s story, but their characters are more related than we think. They both lost their mothers to murder, and that’s one of the emotional vessels of the movie. That’s where the Affleck Batman kicks in.”

Affleck has thus far appeared in three films as Batman – Batman v. Superman, Justice League, and Suicide Squad – and now he’ll be the first actor to play the Bat in four different movies.

Warner Brothers and DC are really doubling down on their multiverse idea, already ponying up some $20 million to let Zack Snyder finish his “vision” of Justice League, and currently working with Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson on The Batman, currently in production and bringing a young version of Batman back to the screen. Christian Bale had the most celebrated run as the Dark Knight, ending his three-movie run years back with Bruce Wayne riding off into the sunset and leaving the cowl to a potential protege.

Since then, Snyder and Affleck stepped up, and an adolescent Bruce Wayne appeared, briefly, in last year’s Joker. It has yet to be seen if and how Joker or The Batman will fit into the timelines/realities of the already existing Snyderverse and Burtonverse movies, or whether or not Christian Bale’s Nolanverse Batman will factor in to DC’s future plans.

The director seems to hint at the possibility. “This movie is a bit of a hinge in the sense that it presents a story that implies a unified universe where all the cinematic iterations that we’ve seen before are valid,” Muschietti said. “It’s inclusive in the sense that it is saying all that you’ve seen exists, and everything that you will see exists, in the same unified multiverse.”

So far, Keaton and Affleck have been successfully roped in, so maybe it’s not crazy to expect Bale and Pattinson to appear.

Too bad Adam West passed away.

Over the past 30 years, the movies have suffered from the lack of a compelling version of what was once the most famous superhero in the world. There have been a lot of Supermans and almost-Supermans over the years, and mone of them have lived up to Christopher Reeve’s (and director Richard Donner’s) take on the character.

Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill followed him to… less success, and Nicolas Cage was all set to play a weirdo Superman in Tim Burton’s dark take, but at this point the problem is less the casting than the project itself. If only Superman were a Marvel character instead of mired in the mess that is DC (no offense to the Snyderhive), perhaps he’d be in better standing.

Well, Marvel does have a version, and he may be appearing at some point. And he may be played by Brad Pitt.

According to the movie website, We Got This Covered, who’ve seen many of their scoops come to pass on the big screen, the MCU is eyeing Brad Pitt for the role of Hyperion, an Eternal who bears something a resemblance to the last son of Krypton.

Purposefully modeled on Superman, Hyperion is an Eternal – whom we’ll see explored in Chloe Zhao’s forthcoming movie, which has been delayed by the pandemic – and the leader of the Squadron Supreme, which is likewise modeled on the Justice League, with members based on other famous DC heroes (e.g., Nighthawk (Batman), Power Princess (Wonder Woman) and Whizzer (Flash)).

The Hyperion movie was first rumored back in the spring, but Brad Pitt’s potential involvement is a new wrinkle. Pitt has yet to don the tights/cape ensemble – unless you count his fleeting cameo in Deadpool 2 – but he would certainly be an interesting choice for a Superman-esque figure. He definitely has the looks for it, not that our yellow sun would affect the symmetry of one’s face.

Or would it? I’m not a doctor.

The Reynolds Cut is here. The version no one asked for, of a movie that no one liked has finally arrived and honestly, it’s pretty great. It’s a savvy move by Reynolds to capitalize off the fervor surrounding re-cut comic book movies and present his artistic vision of one of his first major comic book forays, 2011’s Green Lantern.

Of course, Reynolds is following suit from Zach Snyder’s re-release of The Justice League. Comic book savants are drooling to get his full take on what was expected from the first JL movie, and exactly no one was asking Reynolds to re-cut his “classic.” But you know what, sometimes you don’t know what you need, and it’s up to the visionaries like Reynolds to see past that and deliver a truly unique product.

Let’s be honest, Green Lantern was terrible. It was a pretty high-profile flop for Reynolds at the time, who has since recovered with a pretty tremendous career. Not only does he make awesome movies now, but he also reunites people with their beloved lost stuffed animals. And now, he’s beaten Snyder to the release of a new cut of a bad DC comic book movie. Behold, the Reynolds cut of Green Lantern.

Here’s the secret Reynolds Cut of GL you all haven’t been waiting for. In order to make it as great as possible we made some judicious cuts. pic.twitter.com/B2tUelctr8

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 4, 2020

There’s a lot to love here, from Reynolds using the post-credits Deadpool burn on the movie, to the random Tom Cruise as GL shot at the end. And the most genius decision has to be cutting the movie from its original two-hour runtime to less than 40 seconds on the re-release.

A true masterpiece to add to the pantheon of comic book movies.

Keanu Reeves is a popular guy on The Dad.

Not only does he star in some of our favorite movies, including the John Wick Series, The Matrix (the fourth installment is due next year… we hope!), the Toy Story series, and Bill and Ted‘s (which hits on-demand in about a month), he’s an all-around good dude who is constantly behaving like a real-life version of the superhero-type characters he often portrays on screen.

For his latest project, Keanu is finally joining the comic-book game, but not in the way you might think. He’s not suiting up – yet; instead, he’s leaving acting behind for a minute and shifting gears into writing.

He is teaming up with writer Matt Kindt to pen a 12-issue limited comic book series called BRZRKR.

According to USA Today, BRZRKR is illustrated by Alessandro Vitti and is “action-packed and hyperviolent.” It’s about a warrior who has spent centuries fighting battles and in 2020 finds himself doing dangerous jobs for the U.S. government – to prevent them from exposing his identity. It sounds a little bit like Netflix’s recent The Old Guard, with former Keanu co-star Charlize Theron, which was itself based on a comic series.

“This character who was born 80,000 years ago, half man, his father’s a war god. It’s a little fantasy in reality,” Reeves explained. “I had this image in my head of a guy fighting through the ages because of his father’s compulsion to violence.”

The main character of BRZRKR resembles Keanu, so perhaps one day he’ll play his own creation on screen: “I’d love to play Berzerker!” he admitted. “It’s a really fun story so if it’s not me, hopefully someone can play it.”

For now, he’s enjoying being behind the scenes.

“I guess I’m in the writing room,” he told USA TODAY from Berlin, where he was prepping for “Matrix 4” and “Skyping pretty regularly” with his co-writer.

“We’re excited about what’s happening,” Reeves says. “The story’s taking some really interesting twists and turns.”

So has his career, which is entering its fifth decade and shows no signs of slowing down. Especially if he’s able to parlay his stardom into comic book success.

You can get the full sneak peek from Boom! Studios here.

The first issue of the comic hits shelves on October 7th.

Where’s a wizard when you need one? 2020 has been a rough year no matter how you slice it, and the timing couldn’t be better for a sorcerer to appear and help set things right in a variety of different areas. Unfortunately, wizards aren’t real, but for a moment back in 2016, it almost seemed like one prominent one was, if only for a few minutes.

Before Endgame, when the MCU was still introducing the characters that would help fight and defeat Thanos, Scott Derrickson and Benedict Cumberbatch were filming Dr. Strange in midtown Manhattan, the director suggested that his star actor enter a nearby comic store. While in full Dr. Strange regalia.

Cumberbatch obliged, and subsequently made a magical memory for some employees and comic books fans, and Derrickson recently shared the video on Twitter.

Before he enters the store and blows minds, Cumberbatch says, “I’m about to walk into a comic store in Manhattan dressed as Doctor Strange, come with me.”

Never before shown moment.

While shooting in Manhattan right in front of a comic book store, I spontaneously suggested to Benedict that he go inside and he agreed. pic.twitter.com/ge2DcqWpu1

— N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S (@scottderrickson) July 28, 2020

Rene Rose was working there that day, and apparently he’d been waiting for this video to resurface, as it was obviously a landmark day for him and JHU Comic Books.

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for this! I have been waiting to see this full video like this since it happened. One of the best moments in my life, definitely the best moment of me working at @JHUComicBooks!

— Rene Rosa (@rene_rosa) July 28, 2020

Rene wasn’t alone, and shared a photo of his coworker with the superhero too:

Sure do! pic.twitter.com/fElSL3dSzh

— Rene Rosa (@rene_rosa) July 28, 2020

The next Dr. strange movie, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness has been delayed by the pandemic, but should hit theaters in 2022. Maybe Marvel’s famous sorcerer supreme will have another chance to shock and awe some fans before then.