John Wick has emerged as one of the most successful modern film franchises going. It's got so successful, in fact, that the franchise is now parting ways with its very creator.
News has emerged that the upcoming John Wick sequels will no longer involve Derek Kolstad — the man who actually created the Keanu Reeves' John Wick character and its surrounding universe.
The first two John Wick films saw Kolstad getting a sole writing credit, while the third, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, saw him sharing credit with Shay Hatten, Chris Collins and Marc Abrams. For John Wick 4 and John Wick 5, however, Kolstad will not be involved in any way, shape or form.
"At a certain stage the studio will tell you, your creation is graduated, and you wish it well," Kolstad recently told Collider. "I'm still close with [director Chad Stahelski], still close with [first film co-director David Leitch], and I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm excited to see."
Collider went as far as asking Kolstad if the decision to part ways was his own idea. He replied, "No, it wasn't my decision. When you think of the contractually of these things, the third one I shared the credit with any number of people, [the studio] didn't have to come back to me, and so they didn't."
Kolstad continued, "And so you look at that and you could be hurt, and I would say if it was 20 years ago I would have been, but seeing what the industry is and how things go, I just believe that you bless everything and hope it all the best, and to the players involved who are doing other things elsewhere. And yeah, it's personal, so I'm never going to talk shit about John Wick. I want this thing to survive and thrive."
So as you can see, Kolstad has a very positive attitude about things.
As previously reported, the plan is to shoot John Wick 4 and John Wick 5 back-to-back, with the former having the current release date of May 27, 2022. John Wick 5, meanwhile, is set to arrive in 2023 if everything goes to plan.
News has emerged that the upcoming John Wick sequels will no longer involve Derek Kolstad — the man who actually created the Keanu Reeves' John Wick character and its surrounding universe.
The first two John Wick films saw Kolstad getting a sole writing credit, while the third, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, saw him sharing credit with Shay Hatten, Chris Collins and Marc Abrams. For John Wick 4 and John Wick 5, however, Kolstad will not be involved in any way, shape or form.
"At a certain stage the studio will tell you, your creation is graduated, and you wish it well," Kolstad recently told Collider. "I'm still close with [director Chad Stahelski], still close with [first film co-director David Leitch], and I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm excited to see."
Collider went as far as asking Kolstad if the decision to part ways was his own idea. He replied, "No, it wasn't my decision. When you think of the contractually of these things, the third one I shared the credit with any number of people, [the studio] didn't have to come back to me, and so they didn't."
Kolstad continued, "And so you look at that and you could be hurt, and I would say if it was 20 years ago I would have been, but seeing what the industry is and how things go, I just believe that you bless everything and hope it all the best, and to the players involved who are doing other things elsewhere. And yeah, it's personal, so I'm never going to talk shit about John Wick. I want this thing to survive and thrive."
So as you can see, Kolstad has a very positive attitude about things.
As previously reported, the plan is to shoot John Wick 4 and John Wick 5 back-to-back, with the former having the current release date of May 27, 2022. John Wick 5, meanwhile, is set to arrive in 2023 if everything goes to plan.