Chad Stahelski

There are action movies, and there are action movies. And then there are movies that take car chase setpieces and fighting choreography to an entirely new level, creating wild, incredible scenarios that are even more astounding for their realism. That’s John Wick, and in a new featurette, Keanu Reeves explains how he and his stunt coordinators created their special brand of “gun-fu” for the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 2.

“How good to see you again so soon, Mr. Wick.” Well, not that soon, but soon enough after his first outing to have us properly stoked for John Wick: Chapter 2. The latest trailer for Keanu Reeves’ shoot ’em up follow-up has arrived online, promising bigger and badder things for our favorite would-be-retired assassin — including a canine upgrade.

John Wick directing duo Chad Stahelski and David Leitch are gradually taking over Hollywood’s action films, becoming two of the most wanted names in the industry. When Tim Miller vacated the director’s chair on Deadpool 2, there was only one correct solution: Hire one of the John Wick guys. Leitch landed that gig, which leaves Stahelski free to take on another potential blockbuster — the long-long-long-developing Highlander reboot.

Ever since Chad Stahelski and David Leitch made their directorial debut with John Wick, the stunt coordinators have become two of Hollywood’s most exciting new action filmmakers. After delivering their breakout hit in 2013, the duo decided to divide and conquer, with Stahelski on John Wick: Chapter 2 and Leitch on the upcoming Charlize Theron thriller The Coldest City. While Leitch is in the running to direct Deadpool 2, Stahelski is lining up another project, uniting three of the most badass martial arts actors on the planet for one sure-to-be-epic action flick.

The much-anticipated follow-up to Keanu Reeves’ action-packed John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2 has some big shoes to fill. The first John Wick was a welcome surprise: an action-thriller with some masterful stuntwork and gun handling directed by an actual stuntman, about a former assassin who goes on a killing rampage to avenge his dog was a delicious stew of an action movie. The sequel picks up just a short time after the first leaves off, and we see Wick heading to Rome and ready to take out some more bad guys. Although sequels are always chancy prospects, director Chad Stahelski is optimistic about the next chapter living up to the first.

As Laurence Fishburne says in the new trailer for ‘John Wick Chapter 2,’ the titular assassin is not very good at retiring. Keanu Reeves’ John Wick is back for the sequel, and now it looks like he’ll stick around for a third film.

He is thinking he’s back. And this time it’s for a social affair! You can assassinate many bad guys on a social affair, right? You can? Okay then. Social affair.

Before Chad Stahelski and David Leitch made their directorial debut, the guys behind John Wick worked as stunt coordinators and second unit directors on films like The Matrix, The Hunger Games and The Wolverine — to name just a fraction of their credits. And while most fans are aware of their movie history, you might not know that the duo also helped Joe and Anthony Russo on Captain America: Civil War, giving them a little assistance with some of their action sequences, of course.

John Wick’s success is largely owed to the directing power of Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, the duo who used their years of experience as stunt coordinators to really amp up the action. The guys have two upcoming action films — John Wick 2 and The Coldest City — but only so much time for both, so Stahelski and Leitch have decided to divide and conquer, with each of them taking on one project instead of two.