In director Chad Stahelski's office, notebooks full of ideas for the John Wick franchise are piling up on his desk. So revealed the filmmaker in a recent interview with Inverse, confirming that there is a wealth of material ready to fuel even up to a ninth installment. "We just don't have the story locked down," he stated following the official announcement of a fifth sequel.
Stahelski, who worked as Keanu Reeves' stunt double in The Matrix, has taken his expertise in stunts and coordination to the next level with the blockbuster saga centered on the story of a former contract killer. "My goal is always to have actors with great [physical] performance," he explained, emphasizing the importance of casting performers like Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror to bring memorable characters to life.
He also talked about his relationship with low-budget filmmaking and how his experience on films like Nemesis 2: Nebula gave him a solid foundation for his work on John Wick. "By the time I got to mainstream filmmaking, I had already been in the trenches," he recalled. He also stressed the importance of infusing humor into the fight sequences of his films, something he believes has added value to his franchise.
As for the next step in this universe, the director left the door open even for possible spin-offs. "Keanu would do another [feature film] in a second if we had a good story," he said, alluding that, as producers, they are both interested in exploring other arcs that don't necessarily focus on the main figure.
The John Wick saga is available on various streaming platforms. The first installment is exclusively on Prime Video.
