The John Wick franchise transformed Chad Stahelski’s public image from being Keanu Reeves’ former stunt-double to one of the most influential action directors of the 21st Century. Following the release of John Wick in 2014, fans had one question on their collective minds: What’s next? For over a decade, the answer was even more John Wick. But, Stahelski chose 2025 as the year to branch out, and his new project is an unexpected, but very welcome, new action series. Stahelski lent his action talents to Lazarus, the new anime from Cowboy Bebop’s creator, Shinichiro Watanabe, and action fans cannot get enough of the new show.
Lazarus is streaming on Max, and viewers are obsessed with the new sci-fi/action anime. The series is currently the fourth most popular show on the streaming service. Watanabe wrote and directed Lazarus, and the series feels like a spiritual successor to his magnum opus, Cowboy Bebop. So, where does Chad Stahelski fit into all of this? The John Wick veteran designed all the action for the series. Stahelski is credited as being the show’s action supervisor, but he did far more than just supervise. Stahelski designed the show’s many action scenes, and even recorded all the action in live-action for the animators at MAPPA to use as visual references — we need to see that live-action footage!

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Lazarus is set in the near future, where the mysterious Dr. Skinner has created a miracle painkiller, Hapna, that cures almost any ailment. When Skinner disappears for three years after releasing the drug, he suddenly returns and tells the world that the drug will soon mutate, killing everyone who has taken it. The world has just 30 days to find Skinner to get the cure for Hapna before it’s too late. The series follows a ragtag group of criminals, under the codename Lazarus, who are blackmailed by a private financier to hunt down Skinner before anyone else.
Chad Stahelski Worked on ‘Lazarus’ for Free

Shinichiro Watanabe is to anime what Chad Stahelski is to action movies. Through his shows like Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, and so many more, Watanabe has become one of the most influential anime directors of all time, and is held in the same regard as Hayao Miyazaki and Makoto Shinkai. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Watanabe’s action-heavy works were a big influence on Chad Stahelski. So, when the John Wick creator was given the chance to collaborate with Watanabe on Lazarus, he jumped at the chance.
“We were a bit concerned about how much this project was going to cost us,” Watanabe told Anime News Network. “I had to apologize and tell him upfront that we’ve never worked with Hollywood-level budgets. Chad said in the call, ‘Don’t worry about the cost. Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo have inspired me for years. Let me do this for you.'” Six episodes of Lazarus are currently available to stream on Max. New episodes are released weekly. It hasn’t been confirmed if the show will run for 12 episodes or a full 24-episode season, as Watanabe’s past works have varied in length.
Source: Anime News Network

Lazarus

Release Date

April 5, 2025

Directors

Shinichirô Watanabe

Writers

Shinichirô Watanabe