In less than two short weeks, Lionsgate brings the hitman with a heart of gold, John Wick, back to theaters, as John Wick: Chapter 2 continues this assassin’s story. While we’ll have to wait to see how it performs in theaters, there is already talk of John Wick 3 being developed. But that’s not all that’s brewing at Lionsgate. During a recent interview to promote the sequel, director Chad Stahelski teased that a prequel TV series may happen with the studio.
Director Chad Stahelski has revealed in previous interviews that Lionsgate has asked him and writer Derek Kolstad to start coming up with ideas for John Wick 3. The filmmaker says that Ian McShane’s Winston and Lance Reddick’s Charon, the owner and concierge of the Continental Hotel, will both have bigger roles in John Wick 3, hinting that this hub of the assassin’s underworld will be explored even further. During an interview with /Film, Chad Stahelski explained that Lionsgate is “very interested” in putting together a John Wick prequel TV series.
“Well, we’re not doing a prequel [with Chapter 2]. We wanted to, it just didn’t fit quite where we’re at….We basically almost have a prequel written, but we’d save that for other aspects of the property. Lionsgate is very interested in doing a John Wick TV show, and that seems very appealing to us, to give those creative ideas to that entity, because I think in TV you could really expand on what that is, and greater than we could in just a two-hour film. We’d like to wrap-up the story we’re telling now and maybe save all our prequel ideas and impossible task ideas for that medium.”
It hasn’t been confirmed if John Wick 3 will “wrap-up” their current story, but we also reported in December that a John Wick comic series will debut some time this year, although no details about the comic have been released yet. One of the ideas both Chad Stahelski and Derek Kolstad have been exploring for a prequel TV series would show, “the impossible task John completed to gain his freedom” from the assassin’s underworld in the past, long before he settled down with his wife Helen (Bridget Moynihan). As exciting as this prospect may be, nothing is set in stone. While Lionsgate is best known for their work on the big screen, they have produced hit TV shows such as Mad Men, Orange is the New Black, Nurse Jackie and Anger Management, just to name a few.
The original movie John Wick came out of nowhere to become a cult classic, which marked the directorial debut of Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who had worked with Keanu Reeves as stuntmen on The Matrix and other films. David Leitch parted ways with Chad Stahelski to direct The Coldest City, while Chad Stahelski has recently come aboard to direct Deadpool 2. It remains to be seen if Lionsgate actually moves forward with a John Wick TV series, and if it will bring back David Leitch into the John Wick fold. If John Wick: Chapter Two is a big hit this weekend, we may be hearing about this TV show sooner rather than later.