During an interview, the co-creator and director of the John Wick franchise Chad Stahelski gave fans an unexpected surprise that they planned on having the John Wick anime be a prequel film. He stated that the anime film will show "at least some" of the "impossible task" that John Wick had to perform to retire before the story of the first live-action film takes place. Which means there is a high chance of violence and action for fans to enjoy.
The success of the John Wick series has been greatly attributed to Chad Stahelski. He helped produce From the World of John Wick: Ballerina movie that will be debuting next year and directed all four live-action John Wick movies. Stahelski is no stranger to anime, as he is assisting with the action scenes for Shinichiro Watanabe and MAPPA's next science-fiction anime animation for Adult Swim, Lazarus.
Stahelski has gone the record in earlier interviews last year talking about his love for anime and how he is very excited for a John Wick anime to be created. In an interview he was discussing the other John Wick prequel series The Continental before mentioning the anime part. "So we're really looking forward to that [The Continental]; we're really excited about that because … we're doing a John Wick anime because I love Japanese anime so much. So to create all the cool stories that anime could probably achieve better than we could and the TV show to expand that world, and we'll still get our fix, you know what I mean? And have all the fun."
For those not familiar with John Wick, or fans that want a little refresher here is a short trailer and synopsis to remind you about just what type of man John Wick truly is.
John Wick Synopsis: When a retired hit man is forced back into action by a brutal Russian mobster, he hunts down his adversaries with the ruthlessness that made him a crime underworld legend in John Wick, a stylish tale of revenge and redemption.
After the sudden death of his beloved wife, John Wick receives one last gift from her, a beagle puppy named Daisy, and a note imploring him not to forget how to love. But John’s mourning is interrupted when his 1969 Boss Mustang catches the eye of sadistic thug Iosef Tarasov who breaks into his house and steals it, beating John unconscious and leaving Daisy dead. Unwittingly, they have just reawakened one of the most brutal assassins the underworld has ever seen.
John’s search for his stolen vehicle takes him to a side of New York City that tourists never see, a hyper-real, super-secret criminal community, where John Wick was once the baddest guy of all.
Are you a John Wick fan? Do you think the film will be successful as an anime? Let us know your thoughts and guesses in the comments down below!