A John Wick Anime Film Is on the Horizon
During a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, famed John Wick director Chad Stahelski revealed additional information on the upcoming John Wick anime film. The yet-untitled film will serve as a prequel to the Lionsgate feature films and is currently in development.
What We Know about the John Wick Anime Film
Mr. Stahelski mentioned that he and Reeves would oversee the project. However, he did not provide information about the anime film’s staff, animation director, or studio. He did reveal that a spin-off focusing on Donnie Yen’s Caine and a TV series called Under the High Table are in development. Mr. Stahelski showed a high level of excitement for a canonical animated John Wick story, telling the Hollywood Reporter that “We can be a little bit more crazy and nutty in the anime, and we can be a lot more explicit in our storytelling and world-building on the TV show.”
While fans of the franchise are well acquainted with the ‘retired’ John Wick, the prequel anime film will be the first extended look at John as part of the Tarasov Mob. The film will center around the ‘impossible task’ that allowed John to leave the Tarasov Mob and the criminal underworld behind. So fans of the franchise can rejoice that they’ll finally see John’s infamous one-day slaughter of the Tarasov Mob’s enemies.
John Wick — What’s It About?
Created by Derek Kolstad, the John Wick franchise currently has four feature-length films, all of which cast Keanu Reeves as the titular character. The franchise also includes a prequel television show titled The Continentala spin-off film, Ballerina (set to air in 2025), a video game (John Wick Hex), and several comic books.
The story focuses on John Wick, a renowned and retired assassin who, after having his dog killed and car stolen, briefly re-enters the criminal underworld to avenge his losses. As he razes the criminal family that once employed him, John’s violent actions attract the attention of other criminal elements to whom he was indebted. Because of that, what was supposed to be a short return to the darkness turns into a convoluted kill-or-be-killed scenario for John.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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