Why the John Wick Anime Prequel Is A Smart Move

Recently, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed director and stuntperson Chad Stahelski about his work on the John Wick franchise, its creation, its success, and the plans for its future. It’s an appreciably comprehensive piece that feels like a series retrospective in itself, but the biggest takeaway that fans were eager to dissect was the tease of an anime prequel.

John Wick - the modern folk tale exploring a seductive and deadly criminal underworld - is predicated on a deep personal loss that pulls its titular character back into a life he left. Since the first film’s debut in 2014, the storied “impossible task” he performed to leave his life of violence has always been alluded to but never explored until - it seems - right now.

The Problem With Attempting a John Wick Prequel

Never mind the optimistic title - there are problems with this idea right out of the gate. John Wick has many appealing qualities, from the directing to its gorgeous cinematography, and obviously, the action, but one of the most essential ingredients is its mystique. As a protagonist, Wick’s very character is informed through subtle and not-so-subtle allusions to just how dangerous he is, but that same mystique fuels every part of the world he inhabits.

Characters are introduced, and with barely a word spoken or magazine unloaded, the audience can tell they are significant. Their connection to John or his associates is conveyed and understood succinctly through casual greetings, or small exchanges, pregnant with meaning and history. All this is to say: sometimes less is more, and John Wick is excellent at not telling you what you don’t need to know.

Taking a Page out of Cowboy Bebop’s Book

John Wick is a lot like the Shinichiro Watanabe classic Cowboy Bebop, and not just because Keanu Reeves was in talks to play Spike Spiegel in live-action for years. Both stories follow mysterious and attractive leads who have escaped lives of crime. What the audience sees of these pasts is limited; brief but potent flashes of pleasant memories the protagonists yearn to remember but which are inexorably entangled with tragedies they wish they could forget.

Bebop didn’t need to explain its backstory, because it was implied carefully through clever exposition, beautiful presentation, and careful, intentional dialog. Characters like Julia and Vicious were barely in the series in the grand scheme of things, yet their impact is immense in what time they take the stage. To even attempt to expand on the past these characters share would only cheapen the narrative.

Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. The live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop by Tomorrow Studios made many blunders, but one of the biggest was attempting to explore Spike, Vicious, and Julia’s past. All sense of mystery was snuffed out, and what remained was a narrative that already didn’t do the best job of endowing its supporting cast with much charisma.

How John Wick Stands to Avoid This Problem

By now, the title of this piece is starting to feel like a bait-and-switch, but bear with us. The thing is, animation might be one of the only avenues through which a John Wick prequel could actually work. Consider how far the series has come over the past decade, how much it has raised the bar with each installment, and how close it came to eclipsing its scope only to persevere and remain entertaining. Stahelski put it best himself:

Sure, there are other projects in the oven: a spin-off starring Donnie Yen, a TV series focused on the politics of the “High Table,” and of course Ana de Armas’ solo film, Ballerina. However, these are separate entities, not direct continuations of John Wick's story. Regardless, the last attempt at a prequel, The Continental, was met with mixed reception, which already casts doubt on attempts to tap into the lore of this universe beyond what films have presented already.

Why A Live-Action Prequel Couldn’t Work

Imagine for a moment what a live-action film recounting John’s “impossible task” might look like. Picture what kind of spectacle would have to unfold to capture not only the difficulty of that mission but the sheer willpower that successfully freed John from a life of servitude. Keep in mind that said "task" was so Herculean that it took four films for even John himself to achieve anything close to that same peace - and at a great cost.

It shouldn’t be hyperbolic to say that capturing that on film would require going bigger than any of the films have, lest it fail to meet even minimum expectations. Then, consider how one would sell it. Keanu Reeves isn’t getting any younger, even if he is one of the most committed actors in the business. A younger actor is an option, but without Reeves’ distinct charisma, the character would never feel like “John Wick” unless the casting was particularly spot-on.

What Animation Brings to the Table

Let’s face it: there is no way to successfully do justice to the story of John’s “impossible task” in live-action without fatally de-mystifying the tale. But through animation, there is an opportunity to not only meet the expectations of this franchise but exceed them. As grounded as the franchise tends to be overall, an anime could get away with stretching the viewer’s suspension of disbelief. That extra wiggle room would be invaluable in a story so implicitly… mythic.

To that extent, the animated approach is as much a saving grace as it is a clever style choice. What better way to respect the mystique than presenting it as a legend? The action could be bloodier and more frantic, and it could embrace the modern folk hero trappings that have encompassed the series’ appeal since the beginning. Throw in a narration by Ian McShane or Laurence Fishburne, and it’s practically a twisted storybook reading.

But They Need to Get It Exactly Right

The catch is that this anime can’t just be good. It has to look great, and that means relinquishing some degree of creative control to people who understand the medium of animation and how to squeeze the best out of it for this kind of story. Stahelski’s production company, 87Eleven, specializes in action design and stuntwork, but they aren’t animators. They’ve certainly done action design for animated projects, but that hasn’t always boded well.

87Eleven is working on Shinichiro Watanabe’s new series for Adult Swim, Lazarus, which looks exciting, but they also worked on Adult Swim’s Ninja Kamui, and that wasn’t so great. The work of Stahelski and Co. is limited by the animators, who are tasked with turning their choreography into drawings on a page. While this is only a suggestion - and perhaps a basic one - Studio Trigger would be a great pick.

Given their reputation, they might be best suited to translating the sheer relentlessness of John Wick’s action into animation. Their recent work on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners alone demonstrates the grittiness necessary to nail the violence, but also a command of tension and overall vibes to elevate it beyond just a series of increasingly elaborate shootouts. Ultimately, a John Wick anime is a smart move, but only if they’re smart about how they do it.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter