John Wick anime project officially revealed as a prequel film

Modified Oct 23, 2024 17:23 GMT

John Wick anime project officially revealed as a prequel film (Image via Summit Film)

Tuesday, October 22, 2024, saw the John Wick anime project revealed as a prequel feature film for the series via an interview with the franchise’s co-creator and director, Chad Stahelski. The interview also saw Stahelski tease the film’s focus, claiming it will show “at least some” of the “impossible task” that allowed the titular character to retire before the first film’s events.

Unfortunately, Stahelski’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter didn’t see the creator reveal any more information about the John Wick anime film’s story beyond the above. However, Stahelski did comment on the project in other ways that highlight what its goal is from the perspective of the franchise’s creator.

John Wick anime prequel film meant to be a way for franchise to be “a little more crazy and nutty”

Expand Tweet

As mentioned above, Stahelski gives no other information on the John Wick anime film’s story beyond it having something to do with the context of the protagonist’s retirement. However, Stahelski did offer other comments, with one of the most notable being that the franchise is “knee-deep in development” on the feature anime film. Stahelski also called it “fun that it’s in a different medium,” seemingly excited for the challenge.

He added that the prequel is just meant to be “animated fun,” whereas other film franchises’ prequels and sequels aren’t structured that way. It likewise seems that the choice to make the project a prequel was influenced by the fact that Stahelski and co “already capped [the story] on one end” with the release of John Wick: Chapter 4. Given this, they decided to “go back and use a different medium.”

Not much of major importance was discussed with respect to the anime project beyond the above. However, the fact that Stahelski is speaking so openly about the project and sharing its development status, even in an ambiguous sense, suggests major news is coming. This would also make sense given that the project was first announced by Stahelski in November 2023.

Expand Tweet

It’s also worth mentioning that Stahelski seems to be cutting his teeth on other anime projects alongside the active development of the John Wick anime film. This is evidenced by his designing the action sequences for the upcoming Lazarus anime from Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe and MAPPA Studios. Stahelski has also worked on the First of the North Star and Speed Racer live-action adaptations in various roles.

In addition to Stahelski’s project within the franchise, other key staff from the film series also have their own anime projects. It was reported in 2020 that Derek Kolstad, the writer of the franchise’s first three films, is writing and producing a Splinter Cell anime for Netflix and Ubisoft. He’s also reportedly developing a live-action film of Kouta Hirano’s Hellsing manga.