John Wick 1 & 2 Writer Back for Chapter 3; Fall Start Date Targeted
Derek Kolstad, writer of the first two John Wick films, will return to pen the third installment in the franchise. Keanu Reeves enjoyed an unlikely career renaissance with the release of John Wick, an ultra-violent, ultra-stylish comic book action movie set in a world of assassins. The surprise success of John Wick led to a 2017 sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2, which saw Reeves’ character pitted against another seemingly endless succession of bad guys, and set up a third chapter with Wick on the run.
The cliffhanger ending of John Wick: Chapter 2 would have seemed like mere wishful thinking had the movie not hit big at the box office, nearly guaranteeing that John Wick 3 would come to fruition. As we speak, the creative team is coming together for John Wick 3, and the start date for production is now approaching.
As reported by THR, John Wick 3 is being hurried into production with a start date scheduled for this fall. As far as the creative team goes, the first puzzle piece has fallen into place with writer Derek Kolstad now being confirmed. Kolstad wrote the scripts for both John Wick 1 and 2 and is reportedly working on the new script alongside director Chad Stahelski, who co-directed the original John Wick with David Leitch before taking on solo directorial responsibilities for Chapter 2.
Derek Kolstad developed the original idea for John Wick, a story he said was inspired by novelists Alistair MacLean and Stephen King. Originally the idea was for an elderly actor to take on the role of Wick, an ex-hitman who is drawn out of retirement to seek revenge, but that went out the window when Keanu Reeves took on the role. Kolstad and Reeves worked together closely to develop the character of Wick, creating a seemingly peaceful man who shows a surprising and prodigious capacity for violence after being drawn brutally back into the criminal world he tried to escape.
Reeves was responsible for bringing aboard directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who had worked as stunt coordinators on The Matrix. Working from Kolstad’s script, the directors gave John Wick a distinctive style derived from many sources including film noir, Westerns and Hong Kong action movies. John Wick: Chapter 2 (which went on without David Leitch) ultimately did little to develop Wick as a character, but did work to expand on the original film’s world, providing opportunities for even-more-elaborately choreographed action sequences.
With Kolstad now back in place working on a third John Wick, it’s seemingly only a matter of time before Reeves and Stahelski are confirmed to be returning. If Samuel L. Jackson gets his way, he will be joining Reeves and his team for John Wick 3.
John Wick: Chapter 3 does not have a release date yet.
ScreenRant
