After becoming one of the best reviewed action films of 2014, a sequel to the Keanu Reeves action thriller John Wick is officially happening.
The news came from Movies.com, where John Wick directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch revealed that a sequel to the movie is in development. It’s not clear if Keanu Reeves will return for the sequel, but Stahelski and Leitch did hint at the possibility, saying they’d love to work with Reeves for 10 movies if they could.
The directors also said that their goal with John Wick 2 is not simply to outdo the action from the first one, which is often the goal of sequels to action movies. Instead, they’re focused on keeping the character relatable and on getting the story right. So it sounds like the movie won’t try to one up the first movie and get too ridiculous; it will be focused on keeping things grounded.
Of course, we have absolutely no idea where Stahelski and Leitch are in the development process, but it’s great to hear some sort of confirmation of a sequel, even if it’s a pretty long way down the road. The first movie did pretty well at the box office, grossing $78 million on a $20 million budget, but it wasn’t exactly a massive smash hit that would make a sequel obvious.
John Wick starred Keanu Reeves as the titular character, a retired hitman who goes on a quest for vengeance after the murder of his dog. It was one of Reeves' best reviewed films in some time, with critics embracing the goofiness of the premise and the stylistic action.
Stahelski and Leitch are about to get pretty busy though, with the directors in talks to direct Chris Pratt in Cowboy Ninja Viking as we previously reported, so we probably shouldn’t expect John Wick 2 in theaters anytime soon.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com