To celebrate the tenth anniversary of John Wick hitting the big screen, I got to chat with director Chad Stahelski about the impact the Keanu Reeves-led film has had on action cinema. The veteran stunt performer and filmmaker has had a storied career working on franchises and films ranging from The Matrix to The Crow and 300. Stahelski and his longtime collaborator David Leitch have transformed action movies with their stunt-heavy films, which have become a staple in Hollywood and have major influences on other filmmakers.
During our conversation, Chad offered some updates and insight into the world of John Wick, as well as the past and future. There have long been rumblings about expanding the franchise beyond the main film series, with Peacock airing The Continental series earlier this year, the Ana De Armas-led spin-off Ballerina coming soon, and a cameo from Keanu Reeves himself. Stahelski told me that the anime prequel film is definitely coming with Keanu Reeves reprising his role as John Wick for a story that will explore the legendary assassin’s career before he retired and got married. There were no other details provided by the filmmaker other than the fact that Keanu is excited not to have to train to prepare for this go-round as Wick physically.
Stahelski also talked about the upcoming sequel to John Wick: Chapter 4, which will be a small-screen series. He said casting news is imminent but kept the rest close to the vest. He showed stacks of papers on his desk, which he said included the many ideas and action scenes they could not incorporate into the four feature films but are still potentially up for grabs in what comes next.
At the end of our conversation, I asked Chad why only John Wick Chapter 3 – Parabellum is the sole film in the franchise with a subtitle. He told me that the fourth film originally had the subtitle Hagakure, which can be seen on the crew shirts worn during production. The title was in place late into production and was removed towards the end when it was learned that the spiritual guide for warriors that shares that name was used during World War II for kamikaze pilots. Thus, it would not have been appropriate to have that title for the movie’s international release, and it was dropped.
Stay tuned for the full interview with Chad Stahelski as we approach the theatrical re-release of the original John Wick.