JOHN WICK’s Chad Stahelski Will KILL OR BE KILLED
John Wick: Chapter Two proved who the real genius was behind that franchise: stunt coordinator turned primo action director Chad Stahelski.
Where Atomic Blonde - the solo effort from original Wick's co-director David Leitch (who has The Untitled Deadpool Sequel next) - was all sizzle and no steak, Chapter Two doubled down on everything that made its predecessor special. It was like watching Michael Mann adapt Greek mythology, with all the headshots intact.
Now, Stahelski is re-teaming with his Wick producer Basil Iwanyk to bring Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' bonkers comic book, Kill or Be Killed, to the big screen. Brubaker's book tells the twisted tale of a man who attempts to off himself, only to be rescued by a demon who demands he continue killing for him in order to stay alive. Forced to murder bad people, the new vigilante struggles to keep his secret as it slowly ruins his life and the lives of his friends and loved ones.
Dan Casey will pen the script, which will find Stahelski exploring themes of damnation and violence that skew very close to Wick's own double-barreled doses of crime and punishment. No word on when Columbia Pictures is aiming to have the film done and released - and if it'll come before or after John Wick: Chapter Three (one presumes after) - but we'll definitely be keeping you up to date the whole way there.
