With less than a month to go until Keanu Reeves’ badass hitman returns to our screens in John Wick: Chapter 2, the excitement for Lionsgate’s sequel is palpable. It’s understandable, too, as the first outing presented a slick, stylish action thriller with some beautifully choreographed combat and firefights. Not to mention it also featured one of Reeves’ best performances in years.
Now, with the follow-up almost here, the studio has released a new batch of stills showing off the titular hitman along with several of the supporting cast members. There’s nothing terribly revealing here, but a few of these shots are quite cool and only serve to heighten the anticipation. The one of Reeves and Laurence Fishburne, though seen before (albeit, watermarked), is particularly great, as it teases the long awaited Matrix reunion between the two.
Set to pick up where the original left off, John Wick: Chapter 2 will find our protagonist in Rome. Now in the company of some of the greatest and deadliest killers on the planet, Reeves’ stoic hitman has business to attend to, and though the studio isn’t saying much about the plot, it’s safe to assume Wick’s European adventure involves bloodshed, vengeance, mayhem and violence – lots and lots of violence.
The sequel has a lot of work to do if its to live up to its predecessor, which set the bar quite high, but from everything we’ve seen so far, it looks like Lionsgate has got another winner on its hands. The explosive trailers have teased more gorgeous action and Reeves appears to be slipping back into the role very comfortably. Throw in some great new additions to the supporting cast and the European setting and you have all the makings of a bonafide hit.
John Wick: Chapter 2 shoots its way into theatres on February 10th, 2017 and also stars Lance Reddick, John Leguizamo, Ian McShane, Bridget Moynahan, Common, Peter Stormare, Riccardo Scamarcio, Peter Serafinowicz and Ruby Rose. If it does well at the box office – which we imagine it will – don’t be surprised to see a third instalment ushered into production.