John Wick took everyone by surprise when it was released in 2014. Sneaking up on audiences as stealthily as its titular character approaches a target, the film became a modest box office success before gaining a huge fandom on DVD and Blu-ray. This growth in popularity was reflected in the fact that John Wick: Chapter 2 literally doubled the box office take of the first movie – which means attention has immediately focused on a third film. Fans can now dial up their excitement for the next chapter of the saga, as director Chad Stahelski has been discussing John Wick 3 and it sounds like the wait won’t be too long.
Speaking to Collider ahead of the DVD and Blu-ray release of Chapter 2, Stahelski gave an update on the status of the third instalment, which has yet to be officially announced.
“Yeah — we’re currently in the middle of writing it right now. [In terms of shooting,] It’s more of a how fast can we get our shit together. But I would assume that if not by the end of this year, the beginning of next year.”
With this kind of schedule, we could be seeing John Wick 3 arriving in theatres by Spring 2019. With star Keanu Reeves already on board, and a script apparently in progress, the biggest piece of the puzzle will be in determining who will occupy the director’s chair.
Chad Stahelski has shepherded both John Wick movies so far – the first being his directorial debut, which he co-directed with David Leitch. Leitch then departed the franchise for Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2, so fans will be wondering whether Stahelski will follow suit (given that he’s attached to Highlander), or stay with John Wick 3. When asked to comment, the filmmaker could only speak in current terms.
“Currently I’m acting as prep director. Hopefully everything will work out time wise. Of course — I would love to…”
Whoever ultimately takes the helm, though, we can rest assured that Stahelski has clearly set the tone he intends John Wick 3 to take – and it’s very much in keeping with the first two films.
“We want, not so much to go bigger on the third one, but to show you more of the intricacies of the world… I feel like there are all these different subtleties that I skipped over in Number Two, that I’d like to go back to on [chapter three] and show you the inner workings of different parts of New York. So rather than massive set pieces, I’d like to show you cooler and more intricate ones…
I think it would be a mistake budget wise and creatively to just go big and blow up a freeway. That’s not our gig. That’s a comic book or a Bond gig. We want to show you cool and intricate details. What are those little details in everyday life? Hopefully – we make people look at garbage collectors and cleaner vans and homeless people a little differently now.”
John Wick: Chapter 2 arrives on DVD and Blu-ray on June 13th, and you can bet that we’ll be watching closely for further updates on John Wick 3. As always, watch this space for more.