Keanu Reeves is returning as John Wick, but maybe not exactly as you expected. Lionsgate just greenlit a previously teasedJohn Wick animated prequel, which Reeves will produce and lend his voice to. The film will finally reveal to fans the “Impossible Task” Wick had to complete to detach himself from the High Table and its world of assassins: kill every single one of his rivals in a single night.
Shannon Tindle (Ultraman: Rising, Kubo and the Two Strings) is directing from a script by Ryan and Kaz Firpo, who co-wrote Marvel’s Eternals. The whole Wick team, including Reeves, Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, and 87Eleven Entertainment’s Chad Stahelski, are also on board, along with newcomer Point Grey Productions, which was co-founded by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
There’s no word on which animation house will be in charge of putting the whole thing together visually, but it’s a safe bet the film will be more like an anime than a traditional Hollywood animated film. “I’ve always been fascinated with anime,” Wick director Stahelski said last year. “It has always been a huge influence on me, especially with the John Wick series. To have the opportunity to develop a John Wick anime seems to be the perfect progression for the John Wick world. I feel John Wick is the perfect property for this medium—anime holds the potential to expand our world, our characters, and our action in ways unimaginable before.”
Reeves most recently reprised what’s become one of his signature roles in 2025’s Ballerina, which wasn’t great, but had some amazing action in it. We’re hoping this film, though, adding further drama to John Wick‘s origins, will be even better.
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