We're Getting A New John Wick Spinoff — But There's A Big Catch
How crazy will things get when they’re not bound to the rules of physics?
Keanu Reeves’ importance to pop culture cannot be overstated. Just this month on television, he’s become a recurring bit on both AMC+’s latest big thriller and HBO’s current headline drama. The DC character he made famous, John Constantine, is coming back to screens, and a sequel to his Constantine is still in the works.
But nowadays, Keanu Reeves is synonymous with one name: John Wick. The action hero has led multiple movies, and the universe he inhabits also contains a number of spinoffs. Well, now there’s another one coming, and it brings back Reeves in an interesting way.
This upcoming animated movie will show the origin story of John Wick himself.
According to Variety, Reeves will reprise the role of John Wick in an upcoming prequel movie from Lionsgate. However, he won’t have to go through any intense de-aging. This is an animated movie, so Reeves will only provide a voice to the role. The prequel will follow Wick as he engages in “The Impossible Task,” the one-night murder spree he conquers in order to cancel out his obligation to the High Table. Essentially, this is the John Wick origin story, and since there’s nobody who could play John Wick like Keanu Reeves, the movie will have to resort to animation.
This still-untitled prequel was actually announced last year, with animation veteran Shannon Tindle directing and Ryan and Kaz Firpo, the duo behind the script for the MCU’s Eternals, writing the script. However, there were no casting announcements at the time, so now we can rest assured that John Wick isn’t going anywhere without Keanu Reeves.
How will John Wick’s standout combat and action be reflected in an animated style?
But will John Wick translate well to animation? Part of the appeal of the franchise is the precise, unrelenting stunt work and combat, and that’s much more impressive in live-action than in animation. But by the same token, the animation medium could mean that the action could go even a step further into the cartoon. If it’s done gracefully, this could mean a brand new frontier for John Wick as an entire universe.
So far, the John Wick spinoffs haven’t been able to reach the heights of the original movies. Maybe what this franchise needs is to still include Keanu Reeves in spirit (and voice), and then get experimental with the visuals. It’s a risky strategy, but it might just pay off. If not, then at least John Wick 5 is on the way.
