Keanu Reeves John Wick animated prequel movie Lionsgate greenlight, Digi Mart USA News: Keanu Reeves is confirmed to return for the new John Wick prequel movie, according to a report from ScreenRant.
Following Reeves’ apparent departure from the franchise with the ending of Chapter 4, discussions of a potential return swirled. Lionsgate announced in April 2025 that both the animated prequel movie and a proper Chapter 5 were moving forward with Reeves back as the iconic assassin.
Since then, it was also confirmed that Donnie Yen would direct and star in a Caine spinoff movie, which wrapped production in July 2026.
Nearly two years after the studio first confirmed its plans for the project, Lionsgate’s latest earnings call confirmed the fate of the animated John Wick prequel movie, giving it the official greenlight. The film is now in the pre-production stage and is being helmed by Shannon Tindle, the director of Ultraman: Rising.
Ryan and Kaz Firpo are attached to pen the script.
Development on the animated prequel has been in the works for roughly three years. Franchise boss Chad Stahelski announced plans for it in late 2023 and teased that it would be done in an anime style.
At the time, he indicated it would be a TV series and did not describe it as a direct prequel centered on Reeves’ character; that reveal came at CinemaCon in 2025.
The project’s earlier announcement said the animated film would explore the Impossible Task teased in the previous movies, which Reeves’ character completed in order to retire from the High Table-run world for a life with his soulmate, Helen. It has not yet been made clear whether other returning characters, including Willem Dafoe’s Marcus, Michael Nyqvist’s Viggo or Bridget Moynahan as Helen, will appear in the film.
The official greenlight also brought a change to the writing team. The film was originally set to be penned by Vanessa Taylor, whose credits include Game of Thrones and The Shape of Water.
The Firpo cousins, who previously developed the screen story and a draft of the screenplay for Marvel’s Eternals, are now attached instead.
With the movie officially greenlit, the John Wick prequel may not be the only franchise entry to receive major updates soon. Caine wrapped production four months ago, and it has been a year since Chapter 5 was announced with Reeves and Stahelski returning for a non-High Table-driven plot, so Lionsgate could share more news on the action series in the near future.
