Fez — In a surprising turn for fans of cinema and literature alike, acclaimed actors Tom Hanks and Keanu Reeves are set to release novels in French that expand their creative footprints beyond film.
Both works — due in French translation early in 2026 — reflect each artist’s distinct storytelling sensibilities: Hanks through a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood, and Reeves through speculative fiction rooted in his broader transmedia world.
Hanks turns the camera inward
Hanks’s novel, titled “Naissance d’un chef-d’œuvre du cinéma” (translated from its original US edition, “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece”), is scheduled to hit shelves in France on January 16, 2026. Originating in the US in 2023, the book offers a unique insider’s perspective on the making of a fictional, blockbuster superhero film, capturing both the exhilaration and the chaotic grind of modern movie production.
According to early coverage, Hanks pays tribute to the collaborative effort behind filmmaking, highlighting the roles of crew members and artists alike as they strive to realize a shared creative vision.
The novel is seen as an extension of Hanks’s long-standing love letter to cinema — a theme he has revisited across his acting career, from historical dramas to heartfelt comedies. Through prose, Hanks invites readers to explore not only the technical mechanics of production, but also the emotional and human dimensions of telling stories on the world’s biggest stages.
Reeves expands his BRZRKR universe
Keanu Reeves is venturing into fiction with “The Book of Elsewhere,” a novel co-written with British speculative fiction author China Miéville. Originally published in July 2024, the book builds upon the mythology of the “The Book of Elsewhere” universe, itself an expansion of Reeves’s comic book franchise “BRZRKR,” which features an immortal warrior navigating violent and surreal landscapes.
The novel presents a standalone narrative set in an alternate universe of the “BRZRKR” franchise, blending action, speculative concepts, and mythic scope. Reeves’s transition from screen and comics to prose represents a broader creative evolution, one that embraces worldbuilding in multiple formats. For readers, the novel offers both fans of the comic and newcomers an entry point into a richly imagined setting where immortality, purpose, and consequence collide.
Celebrity novels in contemporary publishing
The simultaneous arrival of novels by Hanks and Reeves is part of aa growing trend in which actors are broadening their artistic reach from the big screens to the written page While celeb-authored books range widely in genre and reception, these two standouts are notable for their roots in personal creative projects rather than celebrity memoir or tie-in publishing.
Hanks draws on his decades in Hollywood to craft a narrative that resonates with both cinephiles and casual readers, while Reeves leverages his work in comics and genre storytelling to deliver a hybrid form of action fiction that stands out from the norm.
