The next John Wick the anime risks ruining much of Keanu Reeves’ eponymous killer and the entire franchise as a whole. There are several planned John Wick spinoffs in the works, by Ana de Armas Ballerina for a show titled John Wick: Under the high table. One of the upcoming spinoffs, the John Wick anime series, could easily ruin part of John’s character, even though he supposedly died at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4. There are still not many details confirmed about the anime, but one detail hinted that it will portray a very important moment in John’s life.
There’s a lot to love about John Wick franchise and character by Keanu Reeves. From its incredible fighting skills to the franchise’s sleek style, there’s a reason it’s become one of the most dominant action genres over the last decade. Now, however, Keanu Reeves may not return as John, which puts the entire franchise at risk. Reeves was the face of the entire franchise, and the upcoming spinoffs will have to prove they can survive without him. It is not an easy task, but the John Wick anime can make it even harder to pull off because of when it happens.
John Wick Anime Revealing Wick’s Retirement Job Risks Ruining the Legend
By showing John’s impossible task, the anime may ruin his mystique
Recently, the timeline of John Wick anime has been confirmed, and the show is set to be a prequel and portray the “impossible task” John had to do to get out of the killer’s life. In the original John Wick film, the film’s main antagonist, Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist) explained that John had to complete an impossible mission before he could retire and live a peaceful life with his wife. THE John Wick anime and its placement in John Wick the timeline threatens to ruin that part of the killer’s legendary story, eliminating its mystery.
One of the main reasons the franchise became so popular was because it only featured bits and pieces of the fascinating world of John Wick. This stimulated discussions, theories and ideas that kept fans engaged for years and made John Wick the action juggernaut that it is. If the John Wick anime shows their task impossible, this would completely undermine the environmental world-building that propelled the franchise to success. All the benefits of its gradual narrative would be replaced by the anime, and some of the franchise’s best moments would also be undone.
Some of John Wick’s best moments were never shown on screen
The rumors and legends about John Wick were almost better than the character himself
To illustrate why removing the mystique surrounding John’s story is such a bad idea, there are several moments in the John Wick franchises that were memorable precisely because they weren’t explained thoroughly. One of the best examples of this concept is Sofia, Halle Berry’s character in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Throughout the film, Sofia revealed that John helped save her daughter, but for some reason he had to hide her location from Sofia. It’s an intriguing story for Sofia and John, and it would be much less interesting if the franchise showed this moment on screen.
The John Wick anime looks incredibly exciting (even if it “ruins” the magic)
While this takes away some of the mystery, more John Wick is never a bad thing
Although showing the details of John’s impossible task takes some of the mystique out of his legend, the next John Wick anime still looks like an incredibly exciting show. Its animated format could allow the show to have even more intense fight scenes than the live-action films. Its prequel setting essentially means it will show a completely new version of John that has never been seen before and much more. THE John Wick anime has a lot of potential to be one of the best John Wick spin-offs out there. Eliminating the killer’s mystique may not be a death sentence either, if handled carefully.
Even if showing the details of John’s impossible task takes away some of the mystique of his legend, the upcoming John Wick anime still looks like an incredibly exciting show.
A great example of how the John Wick anime could detail John’s impossible task without spoiling what has already happened in John Wick: Chapter 2. When Viggo was trying to convince Iosef (Alfie Allen) that he had made a serious mistake in the original John Wickhe told his son a story about John killing three men with a pencil. So, in John Wick: Chapter 2the film showed him killing two attackers with a pencil, effectively ruining the first film’s “myth” about the killer. This scene, however, was incredibly cool, and being able to show it on screen was worth dispelling some of the John WickIt’s mystical.