Back in November, production started on Lionsgate's upcoming action sequel John Wick 2, with Keanu Reeves returning as the title character from the critically-acclaimed 2014 action-thriller John Wick. That report gave us our first look at Keanu Reeves on the set, but, unfortunately, we haven't had any updates about this project since then. Earlier today, the Exhibitor Relations Twitter feed revealed that Lionsgate has handed out a February 10, 2017 release date, and that the sequel is now titled John Wick: Chapter 2.
John Wick: Chapter 2 will have plenty of competition nearly one year from today, going up against three high-profile projects. Also opening on that day is Universal's steamy sequel Fifty Shades Darker, which started production earlier this week, Warner Bros.' The Lego Movie spinoff The LEGO Batman Movie and 20th Century Fox's drama The Mountain Between Us, starring Charlie Hunnam and Margot Robbie. Despite all of this competition, it still could fare well, since 20th Century Fox's Kingsman: The Secret Service posted an impressive $36.2 million opening weekend while going up against Fifty Shades of Grey last February. And the weekend is prime action movie real estate, with the R rated superhero adventure Deadpool breaing all kinds of records when it opened to the tune of $132 million during the same time frame just his past weekend.
Exhibitor Relations also mentions that Keanu Reeves' title character will be heading to Rome in John Wick: Chapter 2, although no plot details have been given quite yet. Original John Wick stars Ian McShane (Winston), John Leguizamo (Aurelio), Bridget Moynahan (Helen), Thomas Sadoski (Jimmy) and Lance Reddick (Charon) have returned to reprise their roles, with new cast members including Ruby Rose, Riccardo Scamarcio and Peter Stormare. No details have been given regarding the new characters quite yet.
John Wick arrived in 2014, and, despite its critical acclaim, with an 85% "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes, it wasn't a runaway blockbuster hit. It only earned $43 million off a $20 million budget, with a worldwide take of $86 million. But the film was a massive success with genre fans and critics alike. Filming recently wrapped on this action sequel, but it isn't known when we may get the first trailer.
Chad Stahelski is directing from a script by original John Wick writer Derek Kolstad. The first movie was directed by both Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, but the filmmaking partners decided to split up temporarily, with David Leitch directing The Coldest City with Charlize Theron and James McAvoy, since the couldn't make both films together, due to similar production schedules. Are you looking forward to John Wick: Chapter 2?