Killing isn’t enough when there’s hell to pay. Keanu Reeves may have now retired (mostly) as the dog-loving hitman, John Wick, but Netflix’s latest action thriller, which is set for release this month, has arrived to fill the bullet-shaped hole left behind by Baba Yaga. An adaptation of the manga “Oni Goroshi” by Masamichi Kawabe, Demon City
brings to life this violent and visceral tale of a legendary hitman who, after his wife and daughter are killed, resurrects his particular set of skills on a bloody path of revenge. Sound a little familiar?
The gripping first trailer for Demon City has now been unleashed, and promises a quest for vengeance even more bloody and brutal than the endless vendetta John Wick embarks upon after a group of clueless gangsters make the fatal mistake of killing his beloved pooch. Demon City is due to hit Netflix on February 27, 2025, and you can check out the first footage and synopsis below.
“Just as hit man Shuhei Sakata is about to clean up his act for his family, the mysterious organization Kimen-gumi murders his wife and daughter, pinning the blame on him and sullying his name. After being shot in the head, he miraculously survives but falls into a coma. Twelve years later, the Kimen-gumi attacks him again, but his dormant killer instinct awakens, setting him on an epic course of revenge. However, what awaits him is a truth that threatens to completely alter his destiny.”
Netflix Will Deliver Action Movie Thrills With This Tale of the “Immortal Hit Man”
Demon City is directed and co-written by Seiji Tanaka, a director whose debut feature, the 2018 crime drama Melancholic, won the filmmaker the award for Best Director at the 2018 Tokyo International Film Festival. The action thriller is led by Tôma Ikuta as Shuhei Sakata, AKA the “Immortal Hit Man,” who drags himself from the depths of hell and transforms himself into an unstoppable demon to avenge his family.
The rest of the cast is comprised of some of the best-known actors from Japan, including Masahiro Higashide, Mio Tanaka, Ami Touma, Taro Suruga, Mai Kiryu, Naoto Takenaka, Takuma Otoo, Masanobu Takashima, Matsuya Onoe. The soundtrack, meanwhile, comes courtesy of legendary guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, with the music amplifying “the film’s intensity, adding an emotional and daring edge to Sakata’s relentless pursuit of vengeance,” according to Netflix.
Related
I Shouldn’t Have Slept on This $30 Million ‘John Wick’ Rip-Off
Hollywood’s elite teamed up to headline ‘Gunpowder Milkshake,’ with the daring flick featuring stars like Karen Gillan and Lena Headey.
This first look at Demon City certainly promises everything that action fans could want from a revenge thriller, teasing the kind of questionable catharsis that can only come from watching one man take out countless bad guys in the name of revenge. Fists fly, swords swipe, and blood splatters everywhere in what’s sure to be another big hit for the streamer when it lands later this month.
As for Keanu Reeves’ Baba Yaga, John Wick is now one of the most successful action franchises of all time. While the main storyline wrapped up with the stellar John Wick: Chapter 4, and updates since regarding the possibility of John Wick 5 aren’t particularly promising, things are set to expand exponentially, with an anime series, a TV show, and several spin-offs now in the works. The first official spin-off, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, is coming in June, and finds Ana de Armas leading the fight as a fledgling assassin who embarks on her own quest for revenge.
Demon City
- Release Date
-
February 27, 2025
- Runtime
-
106 Minutes
- Director
-
Seiji Tanaka
- Writers
-
Seiji Tanaka