Why the John Wick Anime is Long Overdue

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The anime will take fans back in time to before the events of John Wick. In the movie, Reeves’ titular hitman had retired from the world of underground assassins by completing an “impossible mission.” The anime will reveal what that mission was. While fans are always desperate to see more of Reeves’ John Wick in action, the franchise finally diving into the world of anime feels long overdue, especially considering its roots and inspiration.

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John Wick Was Heavily Inspired by Anime

Chad Stahelski has frequently cited anime as a major inspiration on his career. “I guess when we talk about John Wick thematics and the fact that we don’t do plot, we do the thematics and mythology first, probably is most heavily influenced from anime,” he told Collider to promote the recent documentary, Wick Is Pain. As well as the work of Studio Ghibli, Stahelski said he is heavily influenced by Shinichiro Watanabe’s seminal series Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. “There’s no rules for them, they just want you to be fascinated by the character, the rules, and what’s going on, you know? I think what gets John Wick is not just the tone or the action, it’s telling a story in a slightly different way, you know?”

Stahelski’s love of anime and Shinichiro Watanabe recently led the director to team up with the Cowboy Bebop creator for his new series, Lazarus, which is currently airing on Adult Swim and streaming on Max. Stahelski designed the action and fight choreography for the series, and it feels like a spiritual successor to the John Wick series. His work on Lazarus has only built hype for the John Wick anime while proving why it is so desperately needed.

During a more recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chad Stahelski explained some of the benefits of bringing John Wick back in animated form. “Keanu and I are not interested in going backwards,” the director began. “With the anime, you don’t have to de-age, you don’t have to explain weird stuff, you don’t have to add a backstory. You accept anime in its own language without explanations. Anime just goes pop.” But it’s not just financial and practical reasons that explain why the John Wick anime is sorely needed…

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Why John Wick Needs an Anime

Chad Stahelski’s point about “de-aging” is incredibly valid. While Keanu Reeves certainly still has it, having recently appeared in Ballerina and potentially returning for John Wick 5, the 60-year-old actor was 49 when the John Wick series began. The training involved in portraying a younger John Wick during his prime would be far more intense than anything Reeves has done so far. With the anime, Reeves only has to provide his voice.

But, stylistically, John Wick is begging for an anime. Stahelski’s work on Lazarus proves how well his semi-grounded style of fight choreography, which mixes flashy choreography with real-life judo and Brazilian ji-jitsu, works in animated form. Lazarus took that concept and mixed it with sci-fi. But the John Wick anime can lean heavily into Stahelski’s style of action design, which would make the anime prequel a truly unique series among other action anime.

As well as the fight scenes, the overall visual aesthetic of the John Wick series would look stunning in animation. The first movie dipped its toe into the neon color palette. But as the franchise grew, Stahelski and DOP Dan Laustsen became more comfortable and experimental with vibrant aesthetics. With the gorgeous animation quality achieved by directors like Watanabe, Hayao Miyazaki, and Makoto Shinkai, to name a few, the John Wick neon aesthetic really would “Pop!” (as Chad Stahelski says) in anime form.

The John Wick prequel anime is still in development. No studio or release date has been revealed yet. Following Lazarus, many fans are hoping that MAPPA will animate the new anime.

H/T: Collider, The Hollywood Reporter