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Michael Burns, the vice chairman of film giant Lionsgate, spoke about the company’s vision for AI and its potential for anime production following Lionsgate’s partnership with tech company Runway.
With a library including titles like John Wick and The Hunger GamesBurns said Runway’s AI could take one of Lionsgate’s signature live-action action franchises and ‘repackage it,’ as New York Magazine (NYMag) frames in its interview with Burns, adjusting ‘tone, format, and rating‘ for a softer cut, and, as Burns says, “Now we can say, ‘Do it in anime, make it PG-13.’ Three hours later, I’ll have the movie.” Burns added, “I can do that, and now I can resell it.“
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Major Japanese anime production studios Toei Animation and OLM Digital, OLM’s CG and R&D subsidiary, are also working with AI. The former garnered controversy when its recent presentation materials included an example of how AI coloring technology could be applied to the popular Precure series. Toei Animation revised the presentation days later, removing the reference to Precure and adding that it had not used AI in any of its productions. Nevertheless, it expects to in the future. OLM Digital says 10 major anime studios have agreed to test its AI findings in their productions.
In April, Lionsgate presented more details on John Wick‘s first animated production. 87Eleven’s Chad Stahelski is attached to produce the film, having most recently worked on Lazarus as an action supervisor. As reported by IGN, Stahelski said at CinemaCon about the upcoming John Wick animated entry, “I’ve always been fascinated with anime. It has always been a huge influence on me, especially with the John Wick series. To have the opportunity to develop a John Wick anime seems to be the perfect progression for the John Wick world. I feel John Wick is the perfect property for this medium — anime holds the potential to expand our world, our characters, and our action in ways unimaginable before.“
Source: New York Magazine (Vulture)
Featured image © Yuto Suzuki/SHUEISHA © 2025 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc.
