An Entire ‘John Wick’ Franchise May Actually Happen

Earlier this week, it was reported that ‘John Wick’ directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are developing a sequel to our favorite action flick from 2014, which would see Keanu Reeves reprising his role as the brooding hero. Now it looks like a sequel might not be all we’re getting from the ‘John Wick’ universe, as Lionsgate has revealed tentative plans to make an entire franchise based on the film.

During a Lionsgate studio earnings call, CEO John Feltheimer expressed that the company sees more potential in ‘John Wick’ beyond a sequel. According to Variety, here’s what Feltheimer said:

We see ‘John Wick’ as a multiple-title action franchise.

Sure, that’s not much to go on, but it does tell us that, if the sequel is successful enough, Lionsgate has plans to continue making more films based on ‘John Wick.’ One of the most interesting parts of the first film was the Continental hotel, a place for assassin-types to meet up and hang out, where Reeves ran into co-stars Adrianne Palicki and Ian McShane. Even if Lionsgate can’t get Reeves to commit beyond one sequel, they potentially have an interesting angle to mine with the Continental and its guests. Is an action flick with Ian McShane as the lead too much to hope for? Probably, but they could also pair up a couple of those Continental assassins for a mission in a future film.

Lionsgate also recently expressed a desire to make more ‘Hunger Games’ films beyond ‘Mockingjay,’ so clearly they’re very sequel/spinoff oriented right now and looking to capitalize on their most successful/loved properties. Following their major loss on ‘Mortdecai,’ that makes sense.

Earlier this week, ‘John Wick’ co-director Chad Stahelski offered some details on their plans for the first sequel:

We have ideas for days and without blinking twice we know we can outdo the action from the original. It’s the matter of story and how much you like the character. That’s always the most important. If there’s great action but you have a character that no one likes and doesn’t have charisma you’re not going to watch it […] So we want to make sure we have a story and a character that everybody loves and then we’ll dress it with action that we promise will be awesome.

No word yet on when we’ll see ‘John Wick 2,’ or which of Keanu Reeves’ pets will get murdered this time around—Reeves currently has a few projects lined up in the meantime, including Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘The Neon Demon.’