Keanu Reeves To Return for JOHN WICK 2!

Lionsgate has officially confirmed today that it plans to produce a sequel to 2014’s critically-acclaimed revenge thriller John Wick. Keanu Reeves will return as Wick along with directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski and screenwriter, Derek Kolstad. John Wick 2 will be released through Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment and will be produced by Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk, who produced the first film.

“With such tremendous fan and critical support for ‘John Wick,’ we knew that there was still so much more of this story to tell,” says Jason Constantine, President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions. “We are thrilled that Keanu, David and Chad have re-teamed with us and promise to bring audiences even more excitement the second time around.”

Produced on a modest $20 million budget, John Wick earned more than $78 million at the worldwide box office.

“In the follow up to last year’s adrenaline-fueled revenge and redemption thriller,” reads the sequel’s temporarily minimal plot synopsis, “legendary hit man John Wick is back.”

Jason Constantine and Eda Kowan at Lionsgate will oversee the project on behalf of the studio. Lionsgate International will be selling the picture internationally at the upcoming Cannes Film Market.

Lionsgate Hopes for a Whole ‘John Wick’ Franchise

The Keanu Reeves action film John Wick could have been a one-and-done affair, but it looks like Mr. Wick will definitely be back again. Earlier this week the film’s writer/directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch said they had ideas for a sequel and . Now, during a studio earnings call, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer says they envision a John Wick franchise, which suggests multiple sequels, rather than just one.

Variety reports on Feltheimer’s comment. There isn’t much to it, but he’s fairly explicit:

We see ‘John Wick’ as a multiple-title action franchise.

So not just one sequel, but probably multiple additional films, which could also mean that the concept could eventually veer away from having Keanu Reeves as the lead, and into stories that do more to highlight the other violent occupants of Wick’s world.

That said, part of the film’s appeal was that it felt very self-contained. There was obviously an open door left for a potential sequel at the end, but John Wick is a film that feels very complete on its own.

Earlier this week Stahelski said,

We’re in development right now [on a sequel]. We have ideas for days and without blinking twice we know we can outdo the action from the original. It’s the matter of story and how much you like the character. That’s always the most important. If there’s great action but you have a character that no one likes and doesn’t have charisma you’re not going to watch it.

Source: Variety

JOHN WICK 2 in Development According to Directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch

Speaking to Movies.com, directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch say they’re already in development on a John Wick sequel, and while they didn’t go into any specifics or say if Keanu Reeves would return to play the merciless killer, they did note that they had ideas for the sequel and know how they would up the action. The challenge is keeping John Wick compelling to audiences. Stahelski explains:

“We have ideas for days and without blinking twice we know we can outdo the action from the original,” Stahelski said. “It’s the matter of story and how much you like the character. That’s always the most important. If there’s great action but you have a character that no one likes and doesn’t have charisma you’re not going to watch it. Look at any great action star, whether it’s Harrison Ford or Liam Neeson or Robert Downey Jr., pick a name, you love the guy first. Good action, bad action, you just love them in action. So we want to make sure we have a story and a character that everybody loves and then we’ll dress it with action that we promise will be awesome.”

Source: Movies.com