The John Wick franchise is planning to expand with a brand new feature anime project taking place before the events of the live-action films, and the co-creator behind it all explained why they went the prequel route for the new anime. John Wick seemingly came to an end a couple of years ago with the release of John Wick: Chapter 4, but that end was clearly a whole new kind of beginning as the franchise has only gotten stronger in the time sense. Not only is a new spinoff film hitting screens this weekend, but a new anime is even in the works.
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It was first announced that a new John Wick anime project was in the works ahead of the release of John Wick: Chapter 4 as franchise director and co-creator Chad Stahelski teased that they were working with talents in Japan to bring the new project to life. It was then teased to be a prequel explaining some of the questions left over from the live-action films, and in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski explained why they went the prequel route for the new project, “Keanu and I are not interested in going backwards.”
Why John Wick’s Anime Is a Prequel
“Keanu and I are not interested in going backwards,” John Wick co-creator Chad Stahelski began when asked whether or not the new anime project was a prequel. “With the anime, you don’t have to de-age, you don’t have explain weird stuff, you don’t have to add a backstory. You accept anime in its own language without explanations. Anime just goes pop.” It makes a lot of sense as not only do they not have to deal with star Keanu Reeves’ real life age (and factoring that into a story about a younger version of Wick), but there’s also a lot more leeway in expanding the franchise through this other medium.
When asked about this prequel anime film last year, Stahelski noted the same idea, “Right now, we’re knee-deep in development on a feature anime about John Wick…It’s a prequel to the movies, which is awesome. It’s fun that it’s in a different medium.” Then further explained that the prequel would then involve the “impossible” task that would eventually allow Wick to retire ahead of the first film, “Ish. You’re pretty right on, but it’s animated fun. It’s meant to be fun. Some of the prequels and sequels that you see in other franchises, we’re not meant to be built that way. We just want to have fun. We want to have fun with the Wick world, but we’ve already capped it on one end [with John Wick: Chapter 4], so let’s go back and use a different medium.”
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Why Is John Wick Going Anime?
As for why Stahelski is pursuing this anime take on John Wick overall, the co-creator previously noted that it would help to differentiate from what has come before“…To keep churning out episodes of John Wick’s adventures seems a little false to us, but to explore different aspects of the world and different aspects of John Wick before the films and through a different medium, whether it’s anime or TV, that feels fun. 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. So those are exciting to us without seeming repetitive, and that’s where we’re putting our energies right now.”
It has yet to be revealed exactly who is going to be fully producing the new John Wick anime, but Stahelski has plenty of experience with anime projects such as the now airing Lazarus, from famed creator Shinichiro Watanabe. The co-creator has already showcased some of how his experience can translate to the anime medium, and now fans can cross their fingers in the hopes that a full John Wick anime feature can deliver on that same (or even greater) level.
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Image courtesy of Netflix.
