A Samurai Western Story Takes Shape in the John Wick World as Script Gets a Huge Update

Chad Stahelski, the director behind John Wick franchise, first revealed in late 2023 that an animated project with a Japanese anime style was being developed. At the time, it was planned as a TV show.

But in October 2024, Stahelski announced that the idea had grown into a full movie instead. He explained that the film would explore a different part of Wick’s history and would focus on the character’s famous “impossible task,” the mission that freed him from the High Table and allowed him to marry his wife. “We thought these ideas would be best told through that art style,” Stahelski said.

In April, Lionsgate confirmed the movie during CinemaCon. Keanu Reeves will voice John Wick in the project, returning to the role he made iconic. Shannon Tindle is directing, with Vanessa Taylor writing the script.

Reeves is also producing alongside Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk, and Erica Lee. The movie is being made by Lionsgate, Thunder Road Films, and 87Eleven Entertainment.

It’s unclear whether that’s the same project, but Variety recently put Austin Everett on its “Screenwriters to Watch for 2025” list and shared that he has already written a script for an original Samurai Western set inside the John Wick world.

This means fans will soon see Wick’s story told in new ways, through anime and even through a Samurai Western spin-off.

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