John Wick is going animated, and Keanu Reeves is officially coming along for the ride. Lionsgate has closed a deal with the original Ted “Theodore” Logan to reprise his role as the legendary assassin in its upcoming animated prequel, which will finally tell the story of the infamous Impossible Task.
If you’ve been wondering what Wick had to do to earn his freedom from the High Table and start a life with Helen, this is the movie that goes back to the beginning. For me, I don’t need to see it. I’d rather it live in the imagination of fans. But apparently Keanu and Lionsgate have different plans.
As first reported by Variety, Reeves has signed on to return as John Wick for the animated feature. The story takes place before the events of the original John Wick and follows the assassin as he completes the Impossible Task: killing all of his rivals in a single night. That bloody assignment was the price of freeing himself from his obligation to the High Table and earning the right to be with Helen, the love of his life.
The project has a filmmaker with some serious animation credentials at the helm. Shannon Tindle, who directed Netflix’s Ultraman: Rising and worked on Kubo and the Two Strings, will direct the movie from a screenplay by Ryan and Kaz Firpo. The Firpo brothers previously co-wrote Marvel’s Eternals, while Tindle brings experience with both feature animation and television.
Keanu Reeves won’t just be lending his voice to the project. He’s also producing alongside the familiar John Wick team of Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee of Thunder Road, and Chad Stahelski of 87Eleven Entertainment. Point Grey is also joining the production.
Lionsgate first announced the animated prequel in 2025, with motion picture chair Adam Fogelson making it clear that the studio knew exactly which chapter of Wick’s history it wanted to explore.
At the time, Fogelson said there was no John Wick story fans were clamoring for more than the Impossible Task. It’s easy to understand why. The four live-action films built an entire mythology around Wick’s reputation, but the mission that earned him his freedom has remained largely in the shadows. I personally don’t need to see it, buy maybe I’m the anomaly.
Animation does give the filmmakers a different way to approach that history, and Tindle’s involvement makes this an especially interesting direction for the franchise. The John Wick movies have become known for their elaborate action choreography and increasingly wild underworld mythology. Seeing that world translated into animation could open up some possibilities that would be difficult to pull off in live action. I’ll give this project that.
The franchise has already crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office across five movies, including Ana de Armas’ Ballerina. Lionsgate isn’t slowing down, either. A fifth live-action John Wick movie is in development, along with a standalone adventure centered on Donnie Yen’s blind assassin Caine.
For now, the animated prequel gives fans something they’ve been waiting years to see: the Impossible Task itself. We know how it changed John Wick’s life, but the night that made him the most feared assassin in the business is finally getting its own movie. Did you know Wick is a Virgo? Just like Reeves himself? Maybe that aspect will also be explored about the assassin’s personality in this new drawn adventure.
