You can go ahead and add John Wick: Chapter 3 to the increasingly crowded 2019 corridor.
Lionsgate has dated the third (and perhaps final?) instalment in the Keanu Reeves-led action series for May 19th, 2019, placing it in close vicinity to Guy Ritchie’s live-action Aladdin and the so-far untitled Avengers 4. Not bad for a hardboiled action series that began life as a low-key, super-stylish revenge thriller.
Indeed, thrusting Chapter 3 into the midst of Hollywood’s pre-summer season is a notable show of confidence from Lionsgate, who will be hoping that the action threequel emulates the success of Chapters 1 ($88 million) and 2 ($171 million). Not only that, but it’ll seemingly deliver a “neat completion” to the Wick saga, after Reeves’ hitman was last seen stumbling out of New York City with countless assassins on his tail. Perhaps Mr. Wick will have the chance to kick back and retire come 2019? Don’t count on it.
While promoting the blistering second chapter earlier this year, director Chad Stahleski told Collider that he envisions a threequel that delves deeper into the John Wick universe and its many “intricacies.” Either way, he’ll be working from a script penned by Wick stalwart Derek Kolstad, and there’s even been talk of MCU mainstay Samuel L. Jackson swinging back for an appearance.
We want, not so much to go bigger on the third one, but to show you more of the intricacies of the world… I feel like there are all these different subtleties that I skipped over in Number Two, that I’d like to go back to on [chapter three] and show you the inner workings of different parts of New York. So rather than massive set pieces, I’d like to show you cooler and more intricate ones… I think it would be a mistake budget wise and creatively to just go big and blow up a freeway. That’s not our gig. That’s a comic book or a Bond gig. We want to show you cool and intricate details. What are those little details in everyday life? Hopefully – we make people look at garbage collectors and cleaner vans and homeless people a little differently now.
The blood has been spilled and Mr. Wick has sworn his oath, which can only mean John Wick: Chapter 3 is on the way. May 19th, 2019 is the date for your diaries.
