John Wick prequel is being written & possibly being saved for TV

In one week JOHN WICK will tear shit up again in a theater near you with style and gore to spare. But if the movie is as successful (or more) than the first where do we go from there? The series will be a bona-fide franchise and fans will expect to see more of the character, and more often. This means expansion, and we could be seeing Wick pop up in places other than on the silver screen.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad talked during a press event for the release of the movie, and there they brought up doing a prequel involving the character (now being played by Keanu Reeves). Said prequel is already being written, but that it might not go to theaters like these last two movies, and instead is something Stahelski hints could head to television:

Well, we’re not doing a prequel [with Chapter 2]. We wanted to, it just didn’t fit quite where we’re at….We basically almost have a prequel written, but we’d save that for other aspects of the property. Lionsgate is very interested in doing a John Wick TV show, and that seems very appealing to us, to give those creative ideas to that entity, because I think in TV you could really expand on what that is, and greater than we could in just a two-hour film. We’d like to wrap-up the story we’re telling now and maybe save all our prequel ideas and impossible task ideas for that medium.

Neither two confirm this is actually the game plan, but still seem open to giving the character several different avenues to play around in that could explore him as a character. There is also a comic book series around the character in the works, but that probably won’t find as broad an audience as the movies or a possible TV show. I also think a Saturday morning cartoon and radio program could also work out nicely.

A probable third (and final?!) chapter is coming after WICK 2, so a prequel done in movie form probably isn’t a smart move at the moment, just for the sake of telling a complete story. A TV show could then go back and explore Wick’s roots and past adventures, and could even dig into the universe of assassins even more. However, would Reeves even be willing to reprise the character in multi-series network TV show? Could the show retain the same level of action quality and body count as the movies? If the answer is no to either/both then I’m not really on board. I like my Reeves and I like my headshots. If I don't get both I get very irate.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 hits theaters February 10.