The cast of ‘Spaceballs: The New One’ at CinemaCon 2026. Photo Credit: Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios.
Preview:
Amazon MGM Studios made its presentation to the 2026 CinemaCon crowd.
Among the movies promoted were ‘The Sheep Detectives’ and ‘Spaceballs: The New One’.
There was also a look at Michael B. Jordan’s ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’.
After making its first trip to CinemaCon last year, Amazon MGM Studios has certainly been enjoying a good year at the box office so far, largely thanks to the huge success of ‘Project Hail Mary’ (which, as announced at the panel, just crossed $525 million at the global box office, cementing it as the company’s biggest movie to date, and will see its theatrical window extended, Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!).
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Hoping to keep the momentum rolling, the studio unveiled new looks at this year’s crop of movies and beyond including ‘The Sheep Detectives’ and ‘Masters of the Universe’. But if you were expecting a surprise announcement about casting for the new James Bond movie, there was none –– but VP of Film Courtenay Valenti did promise it’ll be worthy of the venerable franchise’s legacy.
First out of the gate (even though it isn’t out until next March) was newly minted Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan‘s remake of the 1968 caper movie –– previously re-imagined in 1999, which the actor is directing and starring in.
After a look at some fun footage, Jordan himself took the stage to talk up the fact that Jon Batiste is crafting the music for the movie. He also brought out co-star Adria Arjona, complimenting her “intensity, wit, and fire” while calling her “an incredible scene partner.” Their cat-and-mouse relationship (as art thief and the insurance investigator tracking him down) is at the core of the movie.
Kenneth Branagh, meanwhile, plays the antagonist, the person that Jordan’s Crown targets. Jordan says he made the movie for big screens.
Nicholas Galitzine stars in ‘Masters of the Universe’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Hoping for another big hit, Amazon MGM is putting a lot of weight behind ‘Masters of the Universe’, which adapts the 1980s toy line and cartoon series (and was already focus of a notoriously unsuccessful 1987 movie).
Stars Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes and director Travis Knight took the stage to introduce a new look at the film. Galitzine, of course, was hefting He-Man’s classic power sword, which is surely some sort of safety violation.
Jared Leto stars in ‘Masters of the Universe’. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Some fresh footage from the movie –– which Knight and co. described as tackling how someone is challenged to step up beyond what they think they can do –– was screened after Galitzine had the audience lift the fake swords they received as he recited He-Man’s classic transformation line…
The new scene shows Galitzine’s Prince Adam and Mendes’ Teena reuniting on Earth before they travel to Eternia to battle the evil Skeletor (Jared Leto), which in turn leads into the new trailer.
Another jump ahead in time for a quick look at footage from Jason Statham action sequel ‘The Beekeeper 2’. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from The Stath, and should keep fans happy. Statham himself appeared via video to exclaim, “some people say less is more. I say more is more.”
The new movie will see the Beekeeper society looking to overthrow the US government. At this point in time, the jokes write themselves…
Back to 2026’s schedule, and the quirky mystery drama about a herd of sheep who must solve the murder of their beloved shepherd (Hugh Jackman).
Jackman himself arrived on stage (along with co-stars Nicholas Braun, and a returning Galitzine) to tout the film, which also boasts a considerable cast in both live-action (Emma Thompson) and voice (too many to list) form. It’s described as “a warm deeply human story about finding your place in the world.” And we got an extended look at the movie.
Gareth Evans (‘The Raid’) returns with a new action movie, this one starring Sope Dirisu in the story of Colt, a Vietnam veteran turned contract killer, goes on the run after assassinating a gangland boss.
David Leitch in Paris for ‘Bullet Train.’ Credit: Oliver Vigerie/Sony Pictures.
With confetti and chaos, the new movie from director David Leitch launched into a first look at a team of social media types who make videos about, well, how to rob banks.
Leitch came on stage with Pete Davidson, and Davidson revealed that this group of robbers livestreams their crimes and robberies. “They’re putting an end to greed and corruption one heist, and one video, at a time,” he said, before Rhenzy Feliz and Anna Sawai were confirmed to be the other two robbers. Leitch wanted to capture the energy of a manic YouTube video, before a video message from the rest of the cast played.
Mahershala Ali attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images.
More action, this time a visceral thriller starring Mahershala Ali and following a hitman struggling to balance his job with his faith & fatherhood. Bassam Tariq directs.
Ali took the stage to enthuse about how the movie checked every box for him, and he introduced some intense footage.
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After a quick look at ‘Verity’ (which we’re surprised wasn’t spotlighted more given its Colleen Hoover origins) it was time for…
‘Spaceballs: The New One’ logo. Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
The much-anticipated ‘Spaceballs’ sequel was introduced by originator Mel Brooks (via video), with cast members Bill Pullman, Josh Gad, Lewis Pullman, Daphne Zuniga and to great response, Rick Moranis actually present to introduce a first look at the movie, which is as funny as you might hope for. Let’s just say the ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy is heavily targeted for spoofing.
Henry Cavill in ‘Highlander’. Photo: Henry Cavill’s Instagram Account.
It might still be busy shooting, but the re-imagining of the 1980s action movie is one of the bigger titles on the horizon for the studio.
With Henry Cavill starring as the immortal warrior who must battle others of his kind, it promises plenty of set pieces.
Cavill and director Chad Stahelski (‘John Wick’) are halfway through filming, but the former took time out to appear via video and offer some early footage.
(L to R) George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. Photo: Warner Bros.
Preview:
George Clooney says ‘Ocean’s 14’ budget has been approved.
The movie, with director David Leitch attached, should be shooting next year.
Stars Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle are all likely to return.
It has been years since we last saw the heist-happy crew of the ‘Ocean’s’ movies. There has been chatter about an ‘Ocean’s 14’ in recent years, and things are clearly moving forward. ‘The Fall Guy’s David Leitch was reported as in talks to direct in January, and now, per star/producer George Clooney says that it’s looking good for production in 2026.
“We just got the budget approved at Warner Bros. and we’re trying to set up. It’s just scheduling, so it’s just setting a start date for us. Probably start in about nine or 10 months, shooting.”
The cast of 2001’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
The original ‘Ocean’s’ trilogy, directed by Steven Soderbergh, launched in 2001 with ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ a critical favorite and a commercial hit with just over $450 million at the worldwide box office.
Universal has been developing a new movie take on the ‘Knight Rider’ concept for a while now, and The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the ‘Cobra Kai’ trio are in talks to write, produce and in terms of Hurwitz and Schlossberg, direct the eventual movie.
David Hasselhoff in ‘Knight Rider’. Photo: Universal Television/NBC.
Broadcast on NBC between 1982 to 1986 and created by prolific TV producer Glen A. Larson, ‘Knight Rider’ was a key series of the era, featuring a ridiculous high-concept, a hunky lead, and a memorable synth theme.
Hasselhoff starred as Michael Knight, a detective who becomes an agent for FLAG, the Foundation for Law and Government, and is partnered with KITT, a modified, artificially intelligent and indestructible Trans Am (whose computer system was voiced by William Daniels). Together, the two sped head-on to fight criminals who operate above the law.
The show became a cult favorite, and there have been attempts to re-imagine it in the past, including various TV movies and two short-lived TV series updates, ‘Team Knight Rider’ in 1997 and ‘Knight Rider’ in 2008.
A previous version of this new movie had a script by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, but the ‘Cobra Kai’ producers will no doubt bring their own spin to it. Chances of a Hoff cameo? Fair to good!
Also producing this one are filmmaker David Leitch and wife/producing partner Kelly McCormick via their 87North company.
What else are Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald working on?
(L to R) Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald attend Netflix’s ‘Cobra Kai’ Series Finale World Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix.
With ‘Cobra Kai’ now wrapped after six successful seasons on Netflix, the trio have been exploring other projects.
They’re attached to a fourth ‘Harold & Kumar’ movie, looking to re-ignite the films that gave Hurwitz and Schlossberg their start in the business.
Plus, they’ve talked about potential ‘Cobra Kai’ spin-offs in development. With production company Counterbalance Entertainment, they have plenty of irons in the fire.
When will the ‘Knight Rider’ movie be on screens?
Since this is still in development, Universal has not yet opted to set a release date for the movie. But if the ‘Cobra Kai’ guys figure out a story that works, this one could turbo boost on to the fast track.
(L to R) David Hasselhoff, Patricia McPherson, Peter Parros and Edward Mulhare in ‘Knight Rider’. Photo: Universal Television/NBC.
Things have been quiet of late –– presumably because the script has proved a tough nut to crack. Still, there is some news to report now, with Deadline bringing word that ‘Twisters’Lee Isaac Chung is in talks to direct the movie.
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Robbie and Gosling are not confirmed for the movie just yet, but if Chung makes a deal, it points to some positive forward movement.
The cast of 2001’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Deadline’s report mentions that the script remains secret, though previous stories brought word that it’ll be set in 1962, and focus on a pair of thieves who target expensive earrings during a mansion event followed by a plot to steal precious diamond in Monte Carlo.
Seeking payback after something goes wrong, they recruit a team to sabotage his Monaco Grand Prix victory and swipe the gem.
Carrie Solomon wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay, but there may well have been others involved since then.
The likes of Jay Roach and Molly Rose have been talked up as directors previously, but it would seem Chung is the current choice given the success of ‘Twisters’.
What else is happening in the ‘Ocean’s world?
George Clooney in ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
But since those initial stories there has been little update.
Clooney, who is a producer on the ‘Ocean’s franchise in addition to its lead actor, told Uproxx about a development for the future back in 2023:
“We have a really good script for another ‘Ocean’s’ now, so we may end up doing another one. It’s actually a great script. the idea is kind of like ‘Going in Style.’ ”
(Left) David Leitch in Paris for ‘Bullet Train.’ Credit: Oliver Vigerie/Sony Pictures. (Right) ‘Gears of War 3’. Photo: Gearsofwar.com.
Preview:
David Leitch is boarding ‘Gears of War.’
Netflix nabbed the rights to adapt the game in 2006.
It follows humanity’s battle against creatures called the Locust.
Back in 2022, Netflix looked to stay in the video game adaptation race by nabbing the rights to developers Epic Games and The Coalition’s successful title ‘Gears of War.’
Since then, it has been slow progress in development –– but then, this has been a tricky project to bring to screens.
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Way back in 2007, New Line Cinema had the rights, aiming to bring a theatrical version to life, with ‘Underworld’ and ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ director Len Wiseman attached to direct.
But it lingered in limbo for a few years, with Wiseman ditching the project and reports of budget cuts. Around 2016, word arrived that Universal and Microsoft were working on a version of the movie that would be separate from the games’ canon.
Again, things went awfully quiet until Netflix announced it had taken over the rights.
Now, via The Hollywood Reporter, word arrives that the streaming service has zeroed in on the filmmaker it wants to bring the movie to life: David Leitch.
The director has become something of a go-to for action, and ‘Gears of War’ certainly fits that bill.
Set on the planet Sera, the game thrusts players into a battle for survival between humans and a race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet known as the Locust Horde.
Players assume identities of soldiers on Delta Squad, a ragtag fireteam led by disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, which is now charged with leading humanity’s last stand as they fight to save Sera’s inhabitants.
‘Gears,’ developed by Epic Games (and now overseen by Canadian company The Coalition), became an instant success when it debuted on the Xbox 360 in November 2006.
It became one of the most popular games on the Xbox Live service, overtaking ‘Halo 2,’ and sold more than 3 million units worldwide in its first 10 weeks. It received numerous awards, including Gamespot’s Game of the Year and the Interactive Achievement Awards’ Overall Game of the Year.
Netflix has big plans for the project –– an animated series is in parallel development, with the aim to expand the franchise if this first film is a success.
David Leitch in Paris for ‘Bullet Train.’ Credit: Oliver Vigerie/Sony Pictures.
David Leitch has spun quite the career from his days as a stuntman doubling for Keanu Reeves. After graduating to stunt coordinator and second-unit director, he co-directed ‘John Wick’ with action colleague Chad Stahelski.
Last year’s ‘The Fall Guy,’ which starred Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, didn’t succeed at the box office but doesn’t seem to have hurt Leitch’s prospects.
(L to R) Director David Leitch and Ryan Gosling (as Colt Seavers) on the set of ‘The Fall Guy.’
He has a lot of other projects on his plate at the moment, both as a director and as producer via his 87North company, which he runs with wife and fellow producer Kelly McCormick.
Amazon MGM Studios is backing that movie, whose plot details are locked in a vault for now, but Mark Bianculli wrote the script and is an executive producer. Leitch is at work on the movie now and aims to have it in theaters on September 4th, 2026.
There’s also the long-bubbling ‘Ocean’s 14’ movie, which Leitch has been in talks to direct.
As producers, Leitch and McCormick have a wealth of projects in the works –– they’re aboard sequels to ‘Nobody’ and Christmas thriller ‘Violent Night’ and a variety of others, including ‘Ruiner,’‘Red Shirt’ and another video game title, ‘Just Cause.’
Assuming his ‘Gears’ deal goes through, Leitch will also produce that, while The Coalition is also involved.
What other video game titles are headed to screens?
Video game adaptations are certainly having a moment on screens big and small –– ‘A Minecraft Movie’ is still earning money at the box office, while ‘Fallout’ has been successful for Amazon’s Prime Video arm.
It’s not all sunshine and roses, however, as some movies in the genre haven’t performed as well –– Screen Gems’ ‘Until Dawn’ is a recent example, taking in less than $50 million worldwide so far (albeit on a relatively thrifty $15 million budget).
When will ‘Gears of War’ be on Netflix?
While Leitch is reported as in negotiations, Netflix has yet to confirm his attachment to the movie. So chances are we’ll have to wait to see whether this moves forward quickly, and will be delayed at least until after Leitch makes the bank heist movie.
(L to R) Josh Oreck and Chad Stahelski attend ‘Wick Is Pain’ Screening At Beyond Fest at Aero Theatre on May 08, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with ‘John Wick’ franchise director Chad Stahelski and ‘Wick Is Pain’ producer Josh Oreck about their work on the new documentary, revisiting the origins of the franchise and Stahelski’s career, utilizing existing behind-the-scenes footage from all four films, Stahelski’s long friendship with Keanu Reeves, how the ‘John Wick’ fighting style changed the industry, making a painfully truthful documentary, and the legacy of the popular franchise.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski attend ‘Wick Is Pain’ Screening At Beyond Fest at Aero Theatre on May 08, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
Moviefone: To begin with, Chad, I was surprised to learn from the documentary that you had a really hard time making the first ‘John Wick’. Was it difficult for you to revisit those moments for this documentary?
Chad Stahelski: I think the first time Josh showed me all the footage again, but you have a very different experience when you’re watching it alone. When you watch it alone, it makes your palms sweat and it makes you have a psychosomatic response of, “Boy, I made a lot of mistakes.” But watching it with a few people that were there, like Josh, we all watched it together and it’s okay, it’s kind of comedy. You just watch and realize many mistakes, and it brings back all the good nostalgia. It’s always like anything, right? After college, you don’t remember all the stressful tests and all the things. You remember the good times and it’s like that. Now that it’s over and we were somewhat successful, there’s no stress, so it’s very fun to watch. At the time, no, it was not very enjoyable to live through.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski on the set of ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Photo: Niko Tavernise for Lionsgate.
MF: Was it cathartic in a way to revisit that time in your life now after all the success you’ve had with the franchise?
CS: In a way, a little bit cathartic. Success builds confidence a little bit, right? So, the only thing I really had, and my parents were like this, my brothers, we have a strong sense of that gut instinct of, “Hey, if I really believe in this, good.” If you have an argument with someone, you can sleep at night, you are in the right. If you had an argument with someone and you couldn’t sleep at night, you were probably in the wrong. You learn to trust your gut a little bit. As a competitor and as a performer, I always kind of trusted my gut more than anything. So, when you’re dealing with all these creative talks and you’re pitching, “Well, we’re going to kill a puppy and we’re going to make it like Odysseus. It’s going to be a Greek mythology, and we’re going to have him fight a female assassin, and then he’s going to go ride a horse and kill 1,000 people.” There’s a lot of people that are going to tell you that may not be the best way to take your career. “Those aren’t the best ideas, those are silly, those are stupid, that isn’t going to work. People aren’t going to watch it. That’s too much, that’s not enough.” Even people on your team are telling you twenty different directions, and it’s so easy to get lost in a creative process that’s as much collaborative as it is making a film. If I was a painter, I would paint what I see in my head. My brush stroke controls it. In a movie, I must go through a minimal of 200 to 300 people to make even the most basic of decisions. To get a movie greenlit, make the movie, do the stunts, get it finished and sell it, it’s 1,000 people, to be generous, right? Now, each one of those has their own version of the movie in their head, and each one of those is going to tell you, some have influenced, some don’t. So, how do you know? That’s where the phrase ‘Death by a thousand cuts” comes in. If I do a little of what you think and a little of what he thinks and a little of what they think and a little of this, I start to lose what I think. So, what I’m saying is, I’ve kind of always followed my instinct on ‘John Wick’. A thousand people are telling me what I should do, do I think about it? Yeah, you should think about it. But then again, the decision’s still mine. You must know when to say, “I’m doing it this way.” Or “Maybe I should try this.” Look, it’s cathartic in the way that I’ve learned to process. I’ve learned to try everything, listen to everybody, but make the decision based on what I feel. Looking back over ten years and four films, there’s two or three things in each movie I regret, and I now know, thanks to Josh and his documentary, those are the three or four things where I listened to somebody else. I’ve learned that all the moments when people cheer, cry and yell, it’s because they felt good. So, if nothing else, I’ve learned. If anything, I’ve gained confidence to trust my gut.
Josh Oreck attends ‘Wick Is Pain’ Screening At Beyond Fest at Aero Theatre on May 08, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
MF: Josh, having access to the behind-the-scenes footage from all four ‘John Wick’ movies, did you sort of use that as a blueprint for making this documentary?
Josh Oreck: Part of it was having this enormous trove of footage. Another part of it is just having had known Chad and Keanu since before that, since their ‘Matrix’ days where they had a different relationship that evolved into what we see in this documentary. Knowing that there was a bigger story to be told than what we had already done with the footage in the DVD extras and in the press materials for the movies. So, just knowing that there was both a more complicated backstory, for lack of a better term. Then also just stuff in our footage that we didn’t need to talk about, like the struggle to get financing, when the movie came out. We just needed to sell the movie and get people’s butts in seats. So, being able to come back to it and say there was so much of this journey that hadn’t been put to the screen was a good guiding factor there. Then, on top of it all, just there was so much good stuff that we wanted to still show. Finally, to be able to get Chad and Keanu to come in and having them be able to come back in and give some perspective to things was a really nice way of being able to relive ten years in an unusual fashion.
Chad Stahelski attends ‘Wick Is Pain’ Screening At Beyond Fest at Aero Theatre on May 08, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
MF: As much as this is a documentary about the making of ‘John Wick’, it’s also a documentary about Chad’s life and career. Josh, can you talk about that?
JO: I mean, I would probably just add a tiny bit to it. I would add the immense force of nature that is Keanu Reeves into that. I don’t think that it’s not trying to delve into his inner psychology, but he’s an immense presence here. The relationship between those two is front and center in this film and obviously goes back 25 years. But, I feel enormously privileged and I feel amazed by what I’ve seen in watching Chad go from someone who was a performer when I first met him, to being a director who’s firing at the highest level, making films that he wants to make, that people go to see, that, to me, are really pieces of great cinematic art. That’s an amazing journey that I’ve been able to document the entire bit of thus far, and it’s been a real privilege.
(L to R) Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves in ‘Wick is Pain’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Chad, can you talk about your long friendship with Keanu and how has that relationship grown and changed since making the ‘John Wick’ movies?
CS: I think any good relationship comes from a lot of shared interest, and I guess, respect for the other person. Having known Keanu for twenty years beforehand, seeing his work ethic. Remember, I’m younger and I met him when he was at the top of his career. I didn’t meet him till ‘The Matrix’. I was only 24 at the time, and I was just medium way through stunts, a medium level performer, kind of getting in. There wasn’t a lot yet for martial art guys to get in. It was a different time before ‘The Matrix’. Now, it’s like everybody’s a martial arts guy. But there were times that I looked at him going, “Oh my God, I’m going to have to train way harder. This guy’s good.” I was used to doubling people on different shows and the cast members hadn’t had a lot of experience in the fight world or wire work. I meet Keanu who works so hard. I was like, “Well, if he’s in the gym at 7:00am, I better be here at 6:30am. If he leaves at 4:00pm, I’m leaving at 5:00pm”. You just make a commitment that I’m going to work my ass off because he’s working his off. I just figured that’s the way you do it. This is the actor. If he’s trying this hard, I got to try that hard. Imagine that for 10 years of doubling this guy and always having that work ethic, trying to keep up with him. You see that and then you see the way he relates to people. You’ve heard the stories and what he gave for wrap gifts on ‘The Matrix’, all the stunt guys, and he’s legendary for being humble, having humility and having this gentleman-like persona. It’s all true. So now, you’ve got that, so you’re learning to be a good human at the same time. In those quiet moments when we’re not working, we’re all on location. So, you go see movies and you realize that Keanu Reeves is a true audience member. He’s not going there for a professional study. He’s going to a movie theater because he loves movies. He loves it in the theater. So now, I’m laughing, and he’s laughing. You realize you’re not at work, this is just who this guy is. He wants to work hard, but he loves movies, and we both love movies. So, when it came time to do a movie, he’s like, “I want to make an action movie with a guy that loves movies. I don’t want to work with a director that says he loves movies but doesn’t really love action movies.” We all have the same pitches. We’re not idiots. We know why action movies don’t work. We know why some things are cheesy. We know the studios or different entities; we know their games on how they screw things up. We’ve been in it. We’ve been part of those movies, and you can see it getting screwed up. You can see it not servicing the crowd. So now, we’ve got a few people together that all love the same things, that all want to avoid the same trappings, and that know avoiding those trappings is going to take a lot of extra work, a lot of extra time for a lot less money. So, how do we do it? I think that’s the bonding thing that everybody talks about and is that mutual respect, that force of sheer will that you have a common goal and whatever that goal costs, you’re going to pay it. Now you have that, you’re looking across the line at each other going, “Okay, you in? I’m in. Okay.” Once you have that connection, you can do anything, and that’s the team we tried to build over 10 years.
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Photo Credit: Murray Close for Lionsgate.
MF: Chad, can you talk about creating the ‘John Wick’ fighting style and incorporating “Gun-Fu” into the franchise, and the way that it has changed the industry?
CS: I don’t know if we changed anything. I look at action design, or let’s just say fight choreography, just like fashion. Hey man, bell-bottoms were cool. They kind of made a comeback and will come back again. Cutoffs, the tank top. Who knows? I’m not a big fashion guy, but it’s all around. Look, Gun-Fu was around way before me. Maybe the name is new, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, they were doing. It’s like Aikido, Aiki-jitsu, Jiu Jitsu, it’s been around since cinema’s been around. Right? It’s just, we kind of, we were coming off the success of all the ‘Bourne’ movies and what they had done with that. Then ‘Taken’, the shaky cam and it was a very cool time. Look, we just wanted to do something different. We wanted to stand out, so we wanted longer takes and we couldn’t really do what we wanted to do with just punching, kicking and fast editing. We needed the slow editing style, longer takes, we needed the grappling and the close quarter gun stuff, so I didn’t have to edit back and forth. The technology had changed where we had what they either call plug guns or non-guns now that don’t fire blanks the way they used to. So, they’re very, very, very safe. We managed to do close quarter stuff like that. So, we took advantage of the time, the changing fashion sense of things, and kind of put that together with what we thought was a great character trait. John Wick is this husky, Sombo-esque Jiu Jitsu guy. He wants to get close and talk to you in it. We thought that was a cool way because Keanu had done all ‘The Matrix’s, and we just wanted to have a little bit of differentiation between us and Neo. So, rather than all the wire work, we went with really grounded hardcore stuff, and it gave us a way to shoot things and it gave us a way to characterize John Wick that he hadn’t seen Keanu do before. The most I can take credit for is trying to be clever of being different and utilizing techniques which hadn’t been seen in recent times. Did we invent it? No. Did we classicalize it? Maybe. But did we just bring it to the forefront of the fashion movement in action design? Yes, we’ll take a little credit for that. We were kind of clever in that way. But it was nothing more than a reinvention or a rediscovering of stuff that had been around.
Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick’. Photo: David Lee for Lionsgate.
MF: Josh, the documentary is incredible truthful and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Was there any subject that felt too personal, or that you decided not to include for any reason?
JO: Well, I appreciate that. I think Chad really wanted to put it all out there at the service of what we’re trying to do, which is show how complicated it is to make a movie, and that involves a lot of personal sacrifices that people make. Chad talks about his own personal life being thrown into disarray because of working on these films. The core relationship between him and David Leitch was something that has been fraught, and we talk about it in the movie. I just think that we were lucky in that Chad was willing to allow us to tell these stories. I think it’s a cool thing, and it’s something that over time we’ll be happy that we didn’t avoid Chad talking about that his marriage broke up or things like that. But these things are things that happen because of this business that we’re in that’s really so consuming. So, we’re just trying to make something that’s true to the form.
Chad Stahelski attends ‘Wick Is Pain’ Screening At Beyond Fest at Aero Theatre on May 08, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
MF: Chad, was there any subject that you did not feel comfortable talking about or wanted to avoid?
CS: No. Look, there’s always a fine line to walk and that’s where Josh is great. You don’t want to be too much the a**hole, but you don’t want to be coated with sprinkles and rainbows. The whole thing, the goal of the documentary, at least from my point of view, is to show people there’s nothing glamorous about making a movie. The glamour happens after. That’s another day. That’s way down the road. It’s work. Is it satisfying work? Yeah, but it’s work. Now, do you consider it a job, or do you consider it your life? That’s up to you. I consider it my life. It’s my career, it’s where I choose to be. I like hard work. Movies are hard work. To make a great movie is hard work. Like in anything, if you devoted 18 hours of your day to your job right now, how do you think your relationship’s going to work out? Now, is that because of the job or is that because of you? That’s because of you. So, on one side, I don’t think doing ‘John Wick’ cost me a relationship. I don’t think it cost me friendships, so I don’t think that was the motivating thing. I can be a bit of an a**hole when I work, but you can’t separate them. So, you got to walk that line of, no, you don’t blame the work, you don’t blame the job. You blame how you are in the job or how you react to the work. The thing is, we can’t stop doing it. You can’t stop trying to be good. I can’t stop trying to be good. Because you’re having a bad day, you must work through it. Does it influence you? Is there a cost of it? Yes, but you chose that cost. I don’t blame anything. I was an a**hole. I made my mistakes. Name me a relationship where there isn’t antagonism or controversy or debate. Dave (Leitch) and I fight like cats and dogs. We had so many arguments. At the same time, I have a personal thing I’m going through. That’s not his problem, he has his career too. So, we had arguments. One of us has got to cover for the other one. There’s no one job or career that doesn’t have all this stuff. So, you don’t want that to be the focus of the film. It’s not about being dramatic like that, but you also don’t want to exclude it. So, I would say the bar for Wick’s pain is, what’s staying on brand for what we’re trying to say? Is it entertaining? Is it telling a bit of the truth? Is it trying to skew one thing or another? No, it’s just part of it. It’s life. It’s every other job. Making movies are tough. But it’s your choice. No one’s sending an invitation going, “You got to make a movie for us. We’re dying to have you.” You chose to do it and that’s a sacrifice you make. Now, you talk about looking back, is there anything I would’ve changed making the movie? Nope. I would take every mistake all over again because without making the mistakes, I wouldn’t be here. Now, if you asked me if there were a few life things I would’ve changed, yes, because I don’t think it would’ve affected my filmmaking. I think there are better ways to handle myself as a human being. That I would like another go at, but I can’t do that. So, yeah, live and learn.
Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick’. Photo: David Lee for Lionsgate.
MF: Finally, Chad, what do you think is the legacy of the ‘John Wick’ franchise?
CS: I think Keanu says it on the documentary. He defines what it is. My favorite part of the documentary is the last two minutes with Keanu. I used to do a lot of climbing and that’s the big metaphor we always use. No one climbs for the view. You can’t just climb for the view. You climb because you love the climb. Talk to any climber in the world that loves to climb, ask them if it hurts. They look at you funny. “What are you talking about? Of course, it hurts.” You’re pulling yourself up in sub-zero weather. It hurts. What does that have to do with it? What does pain have to do with the result? Why else would you climb a mountain? Because you love it. It’s not about the pain or loving pain. It’s about the achievement. It’s about the satisfaction. It’s about the love that you put into the pain while you get to the top. So, when Keanu defines what pain is, pain is love. Tell me friendship without pain. Tell me love without pain. Tell me success without pain. Where is this rule that greatness and success don’t cost anything? The difference between us and everybody else out there is I wake up expecting the day to be absolutely filled with shit and obstacles and pain, and that you don’t stay in bed. Maybe it’s the people that wake up expecting the day to go smoothly that look at every little thing as painful because it’s an obstacle. You’re trying to achieve things. You’re trying to get the audience, hundreds of millions of people to see stuff that you’ve come up with. I mean, did you think that was going to be easy? We just wake up knowing it’s going to be painful and not letting that get in the way. So, when Keanu says all this stuff is pain, of course it is, but we don’t see pain as a negative. Pain is the necessary step you must take to get through it. It’s the veil of success that you want to go through.
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What is ‘Wick Is Pain’ about?
Witness the never-before-seen footage and true story behind the ‘John Wick’ phenomenon – from independent film to billion-dollar franchise.
Who appears in ‘Wick Is Pain’?
Chad Stahelski as Himself
Keanu Reeves as Himself
David Leitch as Himself
Basil Iwanyk as Himself
‘Wick is Pain’ will be available on digital May 9th.
List of Movies and TV Shows in the ‘John Wick’ Franchise:
(Left) David Leitch in Paris for ‘Bullet Train.’ Credit: Oliver Vigerie/Sony Pictures. (Right) George Clooney and Brad Pit in ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Preview:
David Leitch is in talks to direct ‘Ocean’s Fourteen.’
George Clooney, Brad Pitt and other leads would likely return.
Warner Bros. is backing the movie as always.
Las Vegas casinos, you might want to check your security setup. Because the ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ crew is looking to pay another visit.
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At least, that’s the plan for Warner Bros. and George Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures company, which have been trying for a few years now to put together an ‘Ocean’s Fourteen.’
It would aim to reunite the reunite the crew from the previous outing, which includes Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and more for a new movie.
Yet while Clooney seems committed to coming back, director Steven Soderbergh is apparently sitting this one out, having handled the previous three main entries.
There were rumours last year that Edward Berger, who made the Oscar-winning ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ (and is back in awards contention with ‘Conclave’) was in talks to take it on, but he denied them in an interview with Collider:
“Well, I feel very honored that people think of me to be able to do something like that, and of course, I would love the challenge to do either, but again, it’s rumors that are just people wanting to print some news that just have no basis in fact.”
It’s not exactly considered the greatest movie ever made, so a remake was a smart move.
The updated ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ landed in 2001, with Soderbergh directing from a script by Ted Griffin.
Clooney played Ocean, with his crew including Pitt, Damon, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Bernie Mac and more. They staged a sophisticated and elaborate casino heist involving robbing three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously during a popular boxing event.
It was a success for Warner Bros., earning $450 million from an $85 million budget.
Its 2004 sequel, the Europe-set ‘Ocean’s Twelve,’ also directed by Soderbergh (with a script this time by George Nolfi) saw Danny rustle up one more team member so he can pull off three major European heists and help his team pay back debts.
With a bigger budget ($110 million) it wasn’t quite as successful, but still earned $320 million.
The final film in the Soderbergh-directed trilogy, 2007’s ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ had Brian Koppelman and David Levien on scripting duty and had Danny rounding up the crew for a third heist after casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) double-crosses one of the original eleven, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould).
With a budget reduced back down to $85 million, it crept close to ‘Twelve’s earnings with $311 worldwide.
In 2018, we got spin-off ‘Ocean’s Eight,’ directed by Gary Ross from a script he wrote with Olivia Milch.
The movie was budgeted around the $70 million mark and earned $297 million worldwide.
What has George Clooney said about a new ‘Ocean’s’ movie?
George Clooney in ‘Ocean’s Eleven’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Clooney, who is a producer on the ‘Ocean’s franchise in addition to its lead actor, told Uproxx about a development for the future back in 2023:
“We have a really good script for another ‘Ocean’s’ now, so we may end up doing another one. It’s actually a great script. the idea is kind of like ‘Going in Style.’ ”
David Leitch in Paris for ‘Bullet Train.’ Credit: Oliver Vigerie/Sony Pictures.
Leitch has spun quite the career from his days as a stuntman doubling for Keanu Reeves. After graduating to stunt coordinator and second-unit director, he co-directed ‘John Wick’ with action colleague Chad Stahelski.
Last year’s ‘The Fall Guy,’ which starred Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, didn’t succeed at the box office but doesn’t seem to have hurt Leitch’s prospects.
He’s also a producer via his 87North company and has the likes of ‘Love Hurts‘ and ‘Nobody 2’ on the way in that capacity.
Wasn’t there another ‘Ocean’s movie in the works?
‘Barbie’ CinemaCon 2023 Presentation and Press Line, April 25th. Photos By Eric Charbonneau.
With Jay Roach reportedly directing, Carrie Solomon’s script is set in Europe in the 1960s and may see Gosling and Robbie as Danny Ocean’s heist-happy parents.
There has been little movement on that one recently, so we’ll wait and see if it actually comes to fruition.
(Left) Will Smith attends the European premiere of ‘Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’ at Zoo Palast on May 27, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Photo by Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images for Sony Pictures. (Right) Michael Bay attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Columbia Pictures’ ‘Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’ at the TCL Chinese Theater on May 30, 2024 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Sony Pictures.
Preview:
‘Bad Boys’ collaborators Will Smith and Michael Bay may be working together again.
Bay is considering directing the action thriller ‘Fast and Loose.’
Smith would star as a man with amnesia.
Way back in the distant mists of time (okay, 1995) an action comedy about wayward, chaos-causing cops roared on to screens.
It launched the big screen directing career of a young, hungry filmmaker who to that point had been toiling away in the lower rungs of movie departments and handling music videos and commercials.
The film also cemented the stardom of a rising talent who had broken out on a TV sitcom and graduated to the likes of ‘Independence Day.’
Yes, ‘Bad Boys’ was the movie, Michael Bay the director, and Will Smith the star. While they re-teamed for the first sequel in 2003, and Bay remained a producer for (plus made cameos in) two further follow-ups, the pair has not worked together since.
That could all change with Netflix action thriller ‘Fast & Loose.’
With a script that has seen contributions from Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Chris Bremner and Eric Pearson, ‘Fast and Loose’ follows John Riley (Smith), who wakes up in Tijuana after being left for dead with absolutely no memory.
Riley follows a string of clues to uncover his identity discovering he’s been living two different lives: one, as a super-successful crime kingpin, surrounded by beautiful women, expensive toys, and a lavish lifestyle, and the other as an undercover CIA agent, but with a puny salary, no family or home life whatsoever, and zero trappings of success. The problem is, he can’t remember which of these two personas is his true identity…
What’s the history of ‘Fast and Loose’?
David Leitch in Paris for ‘Bullet Train.’ Credit: Oliver Vigerie/Sony Pictures.
Leitch and his producing partner Kelly McCormick are still aboard to produce the movie alongside Smith, but now it looks like Bay will be calling the shots (and, if we know anything about his work, the explosions.)
Now Smith, according to Deadline, has dropped out of another big action movie, ‘Sugar Bandits’ to focus on this one and Netflix is hoping that Bay’s deal locks in.
Bay has experience with Netflix already –– he made action pic ‘6 Underground’ for the streaming service, and his most recent movie, ‘Ambulance,’ is a big hit with its viewership.
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When would ‘Fast and Loose’ be on screens?
With no solid deal in place for Bay and no official start date, it’s too early to even ponder when this might land on Netflix’s servers.
(L to R) Producer Brad Fischer, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Director/Producer Michael Bay, Eiza González and Jake Gyllenhaal attend Universal Pictures ‘Ambulance’ Premiere at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, CA on Monday, April 4, 2022. Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages.
Sharon Stone has joined the sequel to 2021 action pic ‘Nobody’.
Bob Odenkirk is back to star.
Timo Tjahjanto has the job of directing the new movie.
Though Sharon Stone these days tends to devote herself to charitable endeavors off-screen, she still pops up in the odd movie here and there.
And while she may forever be associated with her most famous performance in erotic thriller ‘Basic Instinct’, Stone has had some other memorable roles, including ‘Casino’ and, on the other end of the critical reception spectrum, ‘Catwoman’, in which she played the scheming Laurel Hedare.
Yet she seems happy to be villainous again, signing up for the sequel to 2021 action thriller ‘Nobody’, which starred Bob Odenkirk and became a surprise pandemic hit, earning more than $57 million from a $16 million budget.
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What was the story of ‘Nobody’?
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Nobody’ saw Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody.
When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), seems to pull only further away.
The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary.
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
There are zero official plot details for the new movie –– once again written by Derek Kolstad, this time joined by Aaron Rabin, Odenkirk and Umair Aleem –– though the end of the original did hint at Hutch continuing to embrace his re-emerged badass side, with Becca playing a more active part.
We do at least know he’ll be facing a threat from Stone’s character, though whether she’s someone from his past or a brand new problem remains to be seen.
Who is making ‘Nobody 2’?
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
On the evidence of his past work, he certainly has the action credentials to pull off something good.
Producing once more via their 87North company are filmmaker David Leitch and producer partner Kelly McCormick, no strangers to action themselves, having most recently released ‘The Fall Guy’.
When will ‘Nobody 2’ be in theaters?
Studio backers Universal have set an August 15th, 2025 release date for the ‘Nobody’ sequel.
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Preview:
Bob Odenkirk has made a deal to return for ‘Nobody 2’.
Timo Tjahjanto will direct the action sequel.
The movie is scheduled for an August 2025 release slot.
While few could have predicted back in 2021 that Bob Odenkirk –– then best known for his comedy work and mixing that with drama for ‘Breaking Bad’/’Better Call Saul’ –– would become a bona fide action star in the ‘John Wick’ or Liam Neeson mold.
And then along came ‘Nobody’, written by ‘Wick’s Derek Kolstad and directed by Ilya Naishuller, which changed the game. Shot for $16 million, it debuted at No.1 at the domestic box office, grossing more than $57M worldwide.
It’s not a shock, then, to learn that a sequel has been in development for a while, and now has Odenkirk officially set to return.
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What was the story of ‘Nobody’?
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
‘Nobody’ saw Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody.
When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), seems to pull only further away.
The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary.
There are zero official plot details for the new movie –– once again written by Derek Kolstad –– though the end of the original did hint at Hutch continuing to embrace his re-emerged badass side, with Becca playing a more active part.
Who is making ‘Nobody 2’?
A scene from director Timo Tjahjanto’s ‘May the Devil Take You’. Photo: Netflix.
On the evidence of his past work, he certainly has the action credentials to pull off something good.
Producing once more via their 87North company are filmmaker David Leitch and producer partner Kelly McCormick, no strangers to action themselves.
What else does Bob Odenkirk have on his schedule?
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
Odenkirk is also attached to star in new Ben Wheatley (‘The Meg 2’) action movie ‘Normal’, which will see him as a man unexpectedly thrust into the temporary role as Sheriff in a small town when criminals hit it and dark secrets are revealed.
And he’s part of the cast for ‘The Room Returns!’ a tribute to Tommy Wiseau’s infamous 2003 cult drama, roundly considered one of the worst movies of all time, but long since lovingly embraced by comedians and fans.
When will ‘Nobody 2’ punch its way into theaters?
Universal has scheduled the action sequel for an August 15th, 2025, release date.
Bob Odenkirk in ‘Nobody.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
