Our own JimmyO was at the JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 blu-ray release event last night and caught up with director Chad Stahelski to talk about his plans for the next installment. For those that don't know **SPOILERS** the film ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and leaves the door wide open to explore this vast underground world that's been created for the John Wick world. How they explore that and what their plan is in continuing is unknown, but there definitely is a plan, as Stahelski pointed out to us, although it isn't quite the usual model for what you expect when it comes to sequels. Here's what he had to say when asked about where they're going for Chapter 3:
"I think, in my opinion the trapping would be to try and make it bigger. I can’t tell you whether JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3 will be bigger or smaller, but hopefully it will be different and more fun, or more creative and different. I think originality suffers sometimes by going big or by size or quantity. Obviously you can see several franchises out there right now that if you just got rid of the title card, you can follow the movie just by closing your eyes and listening and going, I know what’s happening here. The building is crumbling. The earthquake is happening or the laser and the spaceship is coming down. We look at it as a challenge rather than a moneymaker. We look at it like, okay, John Wick did this and this and we did these kind of cool things as well. It’s our world which is the greatest part about it. It’s an original property. We don’t have to bend or fit into any preexisting ideas or mythology about what John Wick is. Can we be cooler? Can we come up with some different stuff? Can we show you a different aspect to the world? I think we’ve got some pretty good ideas. Again, I’ll let you know in about a year or so when Rotten Tomatoes skewers us [Laughing] but we’ll see what happens."
It's a pretty refreshing response, as the age old adage of bigger, louder and more, More, MORE! seems to be the common direction for most sequels. Sometimes that really works and can pay off (TERMINATOR 2 comes to mind) and sometimes a smaller approach makes all the difference in telling a better story (LOGAN is a good example). This certainly doesn't mean less explosive action for another JOHN WICK, but perhaps an unexpected and cool direction that isn't JUST more headshots and Jiu Jitsu tosses (cool as they may be). Having just watched JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 again last night, I'm really excited for another go at the series. I felt the sequel was actually better than the first one (although it's a hell of a close race). I love the world they've created with this franchise and seeing Keanu Reeves deal out death in masterfully creative and kickass ways is a hell of a lot of fun to watch.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 is available on digital HD and 4K now and hits blu-ray/DVD on June 13th. Preorder it now right HERE!