Lazarus: John Wick Director Shot Live-Action Fight Scenes for Shinichirō Watanabe’s New Anime

The creator of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo working with the director of the John Wick series is the dream pairing anime fans never knew they needed. Shinichirō Watanabe will soon be returning to our screens with Lazarus, an original concept sci-fi series. Watanabe brought in former stunt performer-turned-director, Chad Stahelski, to design the show’s action sequences. To visualize Lazarus‘ fight scenes and chases, Stahelski moved away from animation, and actually shot them in live-action.

Speaking to Anime News Network, Shinichirō Watanabe revealed that Chad Staheslki made the unusual decision to design Lazarus‘ fight scenes in live-action, before transferring them to animation. When asked what new things he was able to do in Lazarus, Watanabe responded, saying, “This show gave me the opportunity to pursue significant collaborations. One of which was collaborating with Chad Stahelski.” Some fans were skeptical when Stahelski was brought in, believing it to be nothing more than a marketing ploy. But, according to Shinichirō Watanabe, the John Wick director went above and beyond. He continued, “As part of their service, they even shot live-action fight sequences for us.”

Watanabe recalled reaching out to Stahelski, believing that he would be too busy for the show. But the legendary anime creator was in for a massive surprise. He explained, “I asked if maybe his team could give us tips on how to create action scenes like them. But instead, they went, ‘Leave it to us! We’ll do the choreography for you!’”

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Getting the acclaimed director of all four John Wick movies to design the action for your show is one thing, but Chad Stahelski did it all for free. “We were a bit concerned about how much this project was going to cost us. I had to apologize and tell him upfront that we’ve never worked with Hollywood-level budgets,” he continued. But Chad Stahelski is a long-time fan of Shinichirō Watanabe’s work, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with him. “Chad said in the call, ‘Don’t worry about the cost. Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo have inspired me for years. Let me do this for you.’”

Speaking to Comic Book Movie in 2023, Chad Stahelski revealed how much Cowboy Bebop has influenced his career, especially the recent John Wick: Chapter 4. The director said John Wick’s (played by Keanu Reeves) death in Paris was inspired by Spike Spiegel’s own death at the end of Watanabe’s seminal series. “We liked the imagery of the church, what that meant and going down the stairs,” said Stahelski, continuing, “I have this favorite anime Cowboy Bebop, where Spike Spiegel dies on the stairs, and Hajime Yatate [the pseudonym for the staff at Sunrise] is a huge influence for me, the director of Cowboy Bebop and the creator. So, that all kind of came together when I saw the location.”

The latest teaser for Lazarus was released at this year’s New York Comic Con. The trailer showcased the anime’s gorgeous animation by Studio MAPPA, and promised Cowboy Bebop vibes. Along with the trailer, fans also learned that Lazarus is currently slated to release sometime in 2025.