Good news for all fans of Keanu Reeves kicking, punching and shooting bad guys... While back in February it was announced as in development, the official word has come down the barrel from Lionsgate about a sequel to John Wick.
According to an official statement from the studio, Reeves will be back in action alongside directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski plus screenwriter Derek Kolstad, all reuniting for more mayhem.
Nothing is yet known about what the film will entail, beyond the obvious Keanu versus baddies stuff, but the directors did admit they had plenty of plans afoot back when the original chatter surfaced. “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.”
“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 Lionsgate's Jason Constantine. “We are thrilled that Keanu, David and Chad have reteamed with us and promise to bring audiences even more excitement the second time around.”
There’s no word on a release date yet, but Lionsgate will be selling the international distribution rights at Cannes this year.