At CinemaCon today, Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson will be officially announcing the resurrection of John Wick in a new, animated prequel film — a first for the blockbuster action series. The project is being teased as a highly-stylized pic aimed at adult audiences, with franchise star Keanu Reeves expected to voice the lead role.
The untitled animated feature will be set before the events of John Wick (2014), and reveal “how Wick worked to complete the fabled ‘Impossible Task’ that has been teased in the franchise. It will depict the ordeal that required Wick to kill all of his rivals in one night, a task that won him his freedom from his obligation to the High Table and let him live with the love of his life, Helen.”
Shannon Tindle (Ultraman: Rising, Lost Ollie) is directing from a script by Vanessa Taylor (The Shape of Water, Hillbilly Elegy). Wickverse producers including Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee (Thunder Road), Chad Stahelski (87Eleven Entertainment) and Reeves are producing, with 87Eleven’s Alex Young and Jason Spitz as executive producers.
The John Wick films, created by screenwriter Derek Kolstad, have collectively made over $1 billion worldwide, including $440 million for 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4. The franchise has spun off into a Peacock original series, The Continental, as well as a comic-book series and multiple video games. The next entry, the live-action spin-off Ballerina, will release in theaters on June 6.
[Source: IndieWire]
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