(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Preview:
Donnie Yen is due to start production on his untitled ‘John Wick’ spin-off.
Cameras should be rolling in April.
‘The Batman’s Mattson Tomlin wrote the latest draft of the script.
Announced at Lionsgate’s event during last year’s CinemaCon event, the yet-to-be-titled ‘John Wick’ spin-off based around the blind assassin Caine, as played by action legend Donnie Yen is now moving towards production.
With Yen directing as well as starring, the movie is scheduled to start shooting next month.
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Per Deadline, the movie will also feature ‘Wick’ fan-favorite, Rina Sawayama, who plays Akira. More details will be coming soon.
What’s the story of the ‘John Wick’ Caine spin-off?
Donnie Yen as Caine in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
With ‘The Batman’s Mattson Tomlin writing the most recent draft of the script, the movie will follow Caine’s story as the hitman is now freed from his obligations to The High Table.
‘John Wick’ Caine spin-off: Donnie Yen talks
Donnie Yen in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Here’s Yen’s statement on the new movie:
“What drew me to Caine is the contradiction. He carries love, responsibility, and sacrifice in a world built on consequence. That creates a very different kind of action hero. This film is an opportunity to push the genre forward. My goal is to create the most definitive martial arts-infused action film ever made, one that honors what audiences love about ‘John Wick’ while bringing a new emotional depth and visual language to the story. As both director and actor, I’m excited to shape this chapter in a way that reflects everything I’ve learned over decades in action cinema, while building something that feels entirely new.”
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Other Movies and TV Shows in the ‘John Wick’ Franchise:
Sandra Bullock presents the Oscar® for achievement in cinematography during the live ABC Telecast of the 90th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Credit/Provider: Aaron Poole / A.M.P.A.S. Copyright: A.M.P.A.S.
Preview:
Sandra Bullock will star in an untitled new movie.
Deadline reports that Sony is hoping that the pair can bring more success to a new movie.
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Right now, we know very little about the new project, beyond the fact that Fox –– fresh off of success from co-writing the two ‘Wicked’ movies is writing and producing, and that Bullock will also produce via her Fortis Films company.
What’s the story of the new Sandra Bullock/Dana Fox movie?
(L to R) Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in ‘The Lost City’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The new film is being kept very quiet for now –– Sony has yet to release any plot details on this one.
All we really know at this point beyond the star and writer is the fact that the package was attractive enough for Sony to stump up the money to buy it in a competitive situation.
Where else can we see Sandra Bullock?
(L to R) Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in ‘Practical Magic’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Perhaps the most exciting Bullock movie on the horizon is ‘Practical Magic 2’ witch the witchcraft sequel reuniting her with Nicole Kidman. That one is headed for theaters on September 11.
Bullock also has an untitled romantic thriller in the works that sees her team back up with ‘Speed’ co-star Keanu Reeves.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in ‘Speed’. Photo: Disney.
Keanu Reeves in ‘Point Break.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Preview:
A TV series based on 1991’s ‘Point Break’ is in development.
AMC Network is backing the project.
David Kalstein will run the show.
1991 action thriller ‘Point Break’ has been through the remake wringer once before (see more on that lower down the page), but according to Deadline, cable channel AMC has decided to try again, this time developing the concept as a TV series.
David Kalstein, who recently worked on Prime Video series ‘Butterfly’ (which starred Daniel Dae Kim as an intelligence agent working in Korea), will be overseeing the eventual show.
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It’s hardly the first time AMC has looked to convert a 1990s movie into a series –– it has seen success with Anne Rice adaptation ‘Interview with the Vampire,’ which has spawned a small-screen franchise based on the author’s work.
(L to R): Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in ‘Point Break.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
The original movie, which was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by W. Peter Iliff, starred Keanu Reeves as rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah, who infiltrates the Ex-Presidents, a gang of Southern California surfers who rob banks.
The Ex-Presidents, who wear masks of Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Lyndon B. Johnson, are led by Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi, and Utah gets swept up in their daredevil lifestyle before a massive action chase and a reunion amid lethal waves.
A bigger question is how the concept can be stretched in order to fit the TV format; though Deadline’s story does at least offer some details: the series is set 35 years after the events of the original film and is focused on a dangerous heist crew with ties to the Ex-Presidents gang.
And converting movies to TV series has been a hit and miss prospect of late, with the likes of ‘Lethal Weapon’ failing to spark.
When will the new ‘Point Break’ TV series be on screens?
It’s clearly early days for this one, so AMC Networks has yet to announce when the show might be hitting our screens. We’re not sure we expect it much before 2027, though.
(L to R): Patrick Swayze, James Le Gros, Bojesse Christopher and John Philbin in ‘Point Break.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Available on premium digital November 7th before releasing on Blu-ray, DVD, and an Amazon-Exclusive 4K UHD Combo Pack on December 9th from Lionsgate is the new comedy ‘Good Fortune’, which was written, directed and stars Aziz Ansari (‘Master of None’).
‘Good Fortune’ director, writer, producer and actor Aziz Ansari.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director, writer, producer, and actor Aziz Ansari about his work on ‘Good Fortune’, developing the screenplay, the themes he wanted to explore, directing himself and his friend Seth Rogen, casting Keanu Reeves, working with his cinematographer and editor, the Blu-ray and DVD extras, and if he will direct again.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Aziz Ansari in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about having the idea for the film, developing the screenplay and the themes that you wanted to explore as a director?
Aziz Ansari: Well, I spent a lot of time in L.A. To me, the ideas of this movie are in your face when you’re here in L.A., whether it’s wealth disparity or whatever. The goal with the movie was to do a film that explored those things in a funny way. That was a challenge in writing the screenplay. It was, how do you talk about the stuff, but also make it entertaining and funny?
MF: I know you directed episodes of ‘Master of None’, but did you always plan on directing a movie someday and what are the challenges of directing yourself in a film?
AA: In Netflix’s ‘Master of None’, I directed, acted and wrote, and I loved doing that. I loved that process and working that way. I’d always wanted to take that and do that same thing in a film. ‘Good Fortune’ was my first shot at doing it, and it was similar in ways that I expected and challenging in ways that I didn’t expect, but I learned so much and I’m excited to try it again.
Aziz Ansari in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: What were some of the unexpected challenges and how did you overcome them?
AA: I guess just how different the editing process was. When you’re editing a TV episode, it’s 30 minutes. It’s just so much more contained and you’re also working from a canvas that’s starting from a TV show, so things have already been set up and you kind of have a world. Whereas in a film, you’re setting everything up and it’s a much different canvas in several ways.
MF: I know you have been friends and colleagues with Seth Rogen for a long time. What is it like directing your friend in a movie?
AA: You know, it’s not that different. I mean hopefully you become friendly with everybody, and that’s kind of what you’re doing all the time. But we’ve known each other for a long time, and he has a lot of trust in me and has always been really kind with his advice and everything. It was great having him as a partner on this.
Seth Rogen in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Was there a shorthand between the two of you on set, and since Seth is an accomplished filmmaker in his own right, did he give you any advice while making the movie?
AA: I think there is, and he knew what I was trying to do, and he knew how to help me and how to be there for me. I mean, he was the first person I showed the script to, and the script changed over time, and we would talk about the ending and talk about, what does the movie need? What’s great is that he was able to collaborate not just on his character, but he was thinking about the movie.
MF: Did you write the role of the angel Gabriel for Keanu Reeves, and did you have any idea he would be that funny in the film?
AA: I didn’t know who was going to play the angel, and then his name came up, and I thought, wow, that would be incredible if that’s possible. We had a meeting and he read the script, and he liked it, and he signed up and he was so generous with his time. We talked a lot about the character, worked on his scenes a lot, rehearsed a lot, and once he signed up, I tried to really tailor the role to him and really play to his strength as an actor, specifically with his comedy. He’s so funny playing a guy that’s very sweet and innocent, but kind of dumb and it just felt perfect for this part. As soon as the trailer dropped, people were like, “Oh my God, this is the most perfect casting! Keanu is an angel.” I’m so happy that he was the guy and that it all worked out.
Keanu Reeves in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Did Keanu bring anything unexpected to the role?
AA: He’s just such an iconic screen presence, and there’s things he brought that you can’t put in a script. He’s just such a wonderful actor and he knows his craft so well that he brought things to it that I don’t know how to verbalize, but it’s on screen. I remember when we did our first preview screening and when his face comes up on the big screen, you’re like, “There’s a reason this guy’s been a movie star for many decades. He has something.”
MF: Can you talk about working with your DP to choose lenses and decide on the composition of shots?
AA: Our DP was Adam Newport-Berra, who’s incredible. He won an Emmy for his work on ‘The Studio’ with Seth. He and I talked a lot about, just how did we want to show LA? I talked to him a lot about showing the LA that you see in strip malls and just this neon L.A. We talked a lot about ‘Paris, Texas’. If you watch ‘Paris, Texas’, there’s a lot of green and it was how those fluorescent lights would react to film back in the day. I thought that look would be cool to have in this movie, so that was a reference point for us. I didn’t want a lot of flashy camera work. I wanted it to be simple. I didn’t want to move the camera around too much. I kind of wanted it to be straightforward. He was just a great collaborator and partner, and another guy that also was always thinking about the film, not just his job and his role as a DP. But he did a wonderful job, and I can’t say enough about him.
(L to R) Aziz Ansari and Keanu Reeves in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: What was the post-production process like for you? Did you enjoy working with your editor to assemble the film?
AA: Well, Daniel (Haworth) is a friend and he worked with me on ‘Master of None’ Season 2, and I was excited to collaborate with him on this. Look, when you’re editing a movie, you’re locked in a little dark room with this person for many weeks and it’s an interesting relationship. But you start with the first cut of the movie, which is probably two hours and change and you wash it down and then you start chipping away at it and you figure out what’s the story here. You know, what do we need to lose? How do we get to this faster? It becomes a lot of problem solving and he was a great partner to have, and we got it there.
MF: Was there anything you had to cut that was heartbreaking for you?
AA: Nothing heartbreaking. It’s just like the writing process. You lose things as you evolve the project and, in the edit, it evolves again and certain things go.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen and Aziz Ansari in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: The house featured in the film is an amazing location. How did you find it and has it been use in any other movies of TV shows?
AA: I don’t know about any other films or TV, but I think it was in a Travis Scott video or something, and maybe a Beyonce video? I can’t remember. But that was our location manager, Jay Trainer. He found that place and we fought for it because that location is so central to the film, and it is a character in the movie. He found that for us and made it work.
MF: Can you talk about the Blu-ray and DVD release? Are there deleted scenes or a commentary to look forward to?
AA: I did a commentary track. I think there’s bloopers, and there’s some behind the scenes docs. I love physical media and I hope if people have a ‘Good Fortune’ Blu-ray on their shelf, that’d be awesome.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Aziz Ansari in ‘Good Fortune’. Photo: Lionsgate.
MF: Finally, do you plan on directing again in the future?
AA: I have a couple other movies I’ve been thinking about, and I’d love to make another film soon. It was such a great experience. I feel like I learned a lot and I’d love to do it again.
‘Good Fortune’ will be available on premium digital November 7th before releasing on Blu-ray, DVD, and an Amazon-Exclusive 4K UHD Combo Pack on December 9th. Photo: Lionsgate.
What’s the plot of ‘Good Fortune’?
A well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Aziz Ansari) and a wealthy capitalist (Seth Rogen).
(L to R) Ana de Armas as Eve and Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
The ‘John Wick‘ franchise has become one of the most popular action franchises of all time!
Starring Keanu Reeves, ‘John Wick’ and its three sequels have made more than $1 billion at the box office and has spawned a TV series, a documentary, and a new spinoff called ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina‘, which stars Ana de Armas, as well as Reeves reprising his iconic role.
In honor of the new movie, which opens in theaters on June 6th, Moviefone is counting down every ‘John Wick’ movie and TV show ever made, from non-lethal to most deadly.
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
Taking place during the events of ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’, the film follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry in ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’. Photo: Lionsgate.
Super-assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicado, but the world’s most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn.
Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’. Photo: Lionsgate.
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is forced out of retirement by a former associate looking to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to aid him, Wick travels to Rome and does battle against some of the world’s most dangerous killers.
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Photo Credit: Murray Close.
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’ has shades of what made the previous ‘John Wick’ films great, especially in the second half, but suffers from a boring first half and tonal issues throughout. The first half meanders through exposition and trying too hard to fit into the ‘John Wick’ universe, while the second half succeeds in delivering the type of action sequences we expect from the franchise. Director Len Wiseman fails to inject the first half of the film with any urgency, and instead relies on the second half’s action sequences to sell the movie.
Not surprisingly, Ana de Armas shines in the action sequences, but her character’s backstory is muddled by the slow tone of the first half. We also are meant to follow her as she learns to become an assassin, but this becomes tedious as we want our hero in a ‘John Wick’ movie to be kicking butt and not getting her own butt kicked. The returning ‘Wick’ actors are all welcomed but not given much to do, except for Keanu Reeves in the second half, but even his character seems wasted in a way and brings into question how this movie fits into the larger ‘John Wick’ franchise timeline.
Story and Direction
(L to R) Ana de Armas as Eve and Director Len Wiseman in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
The film begins with a flashback revealing how a young Eve Macarro (Victoria Comte) watched as the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), a member of the High Table, murdered her father before she escaped, and was taken to the Director (Huston) by Winston Scott (McShane). Through an opening credits montage, we learn that Eve was trained by the Ruska Roma crime syndicate as both a ballet dancer and an assassin.
The story then picks up at the beginning of ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’, with de Armas now portraying Eve, as she watches the notorious John Wick (Reeves), a former member, now on the run, seek refuge from the Director. After a brief encounter between the two, Wick leaves and the story then jumps ahead several months. Eve is now working as an assassin but struggles with her first assignment. She soon discovers that her target has the same mark on his hand as the man who killed her father.
Looking for revenge, and against the orders of the Director, Eve searches to find Daniel Pine (Reedus), who is trying to protect his own daughter and is also being hunted by the group that killed Eve’s father. Eventually she discovers that the Chancellor is behind her father’s death, and she travels to the remote town of assassins that the Chancellor leads. However, to protect an alliance the Director has with the Chancellor, she hires John Wick to stop Eve from killing him, even if that means John must kill her himself.
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
I consider Len Wiseman a serviceable director having made decent films like the ‘Underworld’ franchise and ‘Live Free or Die Hard’, but he is by no means a great director, and hardly my first choice to take over the franchise from Chad Stahelski, who’s brilliant work with the action sequences set the tone for the entire franchise. Wiseman was clearly out of his depths working on a ‘John Wick’ spinoff, and the pacing, tone, and the uninspiring action sequences in the first half of the movie prove it.
But the second half of the film does deliver the fast-paced tone and vibrant action of the previous films, so how did that happen? Well, if rumors are true, Wiseman was replaced during production by producer and ‘John Wick’ director Chad Stahelski, who re-shot most of the movie, particularly the second half’s action sequences and the scenes with Reeves. If this is true, it would explain why the movie feels like two different films. It’s not as bad of a “Frankenstein assembled movie” as say, ‘Justice League’, but it is still quite glaring and I’m not sure why the studio didn’t just hire Stahelski in the first place?
While the tone and pacing are all over the place, and the story itself contradicts the timeline established in the previous movies, if Stahelski did reshoot half the film, it was well worth it and saved the movie from being a complete disaster to a decent action film that gets exceedingly better in the second half.
Cast and Performances
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Murray Close.
Taking over for real life ballerina Unity Phelan, who played Eve in a cameo in ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’, Ana de Armas brings a lot to the role. She is captivating on screen and brings true emotion to her character but is also fantastic in the action sequences. However, the poor pacing and confusing tone of the first half of the film does the actress no favors.
The concept of a ‘Ballerina’ movie, so I thought, was to establish a “Female John Wick” in this cinematic universe, but the first half of the film feels more like “Female John Wick Begins”, with the character still finding her way as an assassin. That might have worked in any other film, but this is a ‘John Wick’ movie, and if Eve is going to go up against “Baba Yaga” himself, I would have wanted the character to be a match in experience and fighting skills to Wick.
Once she does face off with Wick towards the film’s finale, she is able to go toe to toe with him, but that doesn’t exactly align with the character that was established earlier in the movie. But regardless, de Armas is a very strong actress, and despite the film’s shortcomings, carries the movie well, especially in the later action sequences. The character is a great addition to the franchise but will perhaps be better used in a supporting role in a possible ‘John Wick: Chapter 5’, rather than in her own series.
(L to R) Ana de Armas as Eve and Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
It’s always great to see Keanu Reeves playing this character, but except for a cameo appearance in the beginning, he is not given much to do until the end. While the inclusion of his character was meant to bridge the gap between this film and the original series, it does take the audience’s attention away from Eve, and this really should be her story.
Reeves inclusion at the end also feels like a desperate move to link the films, and the timeline of how this happens might be confusing for some. My guess is that the end of ‘Ballerina’ takes place between the end of ‘Parabellum’ and the beginning of ‘Chapter 4’, but it’s hard to really know. Having previously worked together on ‘Knock Knock’ and ‘Exposed’, Reeves and de Armas do have strong chemistry together, which shows in their scenes.
As for the rest of the returning ‘Wick’ characters, none of them are given much to do. Anjelica Huston is good as the Director, but after the beginning of the movie, is relegated to “phone acting” in most of her subsequent scenes and the history of the character is never really explored.
(L to R) Ian McShane as Winston Scott and Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
The same could be said for Ian McShane’s Winston Scott, who is de-aged for his opening scene with a young Eve, and then not really revisited till the end of the movie. I would have liked the film to explore his connection to Eve more and have that play a bigger role in the story. But it was a treat to see the late great Lance Reddick return one more time as Winston’s right hand man Charon, even if his role is a glorified cameo.
Gabriel Byrne’s Chancellor fits well into the seedy world of ‘John Wick’ and is a strong advisory to Eve. The actor walks the thin line between generic bad guy and a real emotional and physical threat and does his best to overcome the script’s shortcomings. ‘The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus is also a good addition to the franchise, but his role was cut short, and I really would have liked it if the film had explored his character, relationship to his daughter, and encounter with Eve more. As it is, Reedus only has one scene but does the best he can with it.
Final Thoughts
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Murray Close.
In short, ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’ was not as bad as I feared, but not as good as I had hoped. While the first half is slow and does not feel like a ‘John Wick’ movie, the second half is more of what I expected, and is worth watching. But despite some great action sequences and strong performances from both de Armas and Reeves, the movie fails to truly resonate for ‘Wick’ fans and non-fans alike.
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What is the plot of ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’?
Taking place between the events of ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ and ‘Chapter 4’, Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), a ballerina-assassin, begins to train in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma and sets out to exact revenge for her father’s death.
Who is in the cast of ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’?
Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro
Anjelica Huston as the Director
Gabriel Byrne as the Chancellor
Ian McShane as Winston Scott
Lance Reddick as Charon
Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine
Keanu Reeves as John Wick
(L to R) Lance Reddick as Charon, Ian McShane as Winston Scott and Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
List of Movies and TV Shows in the ‘John Wick’ Franchise:
Ana de Armas stars in ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Ana de Armas about her work on ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’, what ‘John Wick’ fans can expect from the movie, shooting the action sequences, reuniting on screen with Keanu Reeves, and joining the iconic franchise.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with de Armas, Ian McShane, Norman Reedus, and director Len Wiseman.
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to ‘John Wick’ fans sitting down right now to watch this movie in a theater to prepare them for the action-packed experience they are about to have?
Ana de Armas: Just get a lot of popcorn and get ready for a wild ride. I mean, if they like the ‘John Wick’ (movies), this is right down their alley. It’s a perfect addition and extension of the franchise and I think they’re going to be really surprised and they’re going to have a blast.
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
MF: Can you talk about preparing physically for the action sequences and working with the incredible stunt team at 87eleven Productions?
ADA: It was wonderful. I enjoyed every second of it. I also was in a lot of pain at times, but it was part of the process, and it just transformed me. It pushed me to my limits, it changed my body, it changed my endurance, my discipline, and the way I just approached my everyday life during filming. It was just great to feel like you’re getting good at something, like you’re learning new stuff. I love that, learning new skills and that you’re capable of doing these things. It was fun.
(L to R) Ana de Armas as Eve and Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: What was it like reuniting with actor Keanu Reeves on screen after making ‘Knock Knock’ and ‘Exposed’, and having his blessing for joining the franchise?
ADA: It was great. It was special. Ten years after we met, we’re here working together again. ‘John Wick’ and the franchise is what it is because of him and what he’s done. I have so much respect for him as an actor and the work they’ve done with the movies. Just to have him on set on my film now supporting me and like you said, giving his blessing to this extension of the franchise, it was a dream come true. Have him walking, wearing the John Wick suit again and in such a cool scene between the two characters, was just amazing.
(L to R) Lance Reddick as Charon, Ian McShane as Winston Scott and Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
MF: Finally, you are now officially a member of the ‘John Wick’ cinematic universe. What does it mean to you personally to join this franchise and be part of its legacy?
ADA: It’s amazing. It’s something I never thought was going to come my way and it just means a lot. I love just being a part of it. Whatever happens with ‘Ballerina’, whatever we go from now, I just know that I am a part of something special.
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What is the plot of ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’?
Taking place between the events of ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ and ‘Chapter 4’, Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), a ballerina-assassin, begins to train in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma and sets out to exact revenge for her father’s death.
Who is in the cast of ‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’?
Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro
Anjelica Huston as the Director
Gabriel Byrne as the Chancellor
Ian McShane as Winston Scott
Lance Reddick as Charon
Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine
Keanu Reeves as John Wick
Ana de Armas as Eve in ‘Ballerina’. Photo: Larry D. Horricks.
List of Movies and TV Shows in the ‘John Wick’ Franchise:
(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:
The original ‘Speed’ saw Reeves playing dedicated cop Jack Traven who must stop a bomber that has planted a device on an L.A. bus –– and if the bus drops below a certain speed, it’ll detonate, killing everyone aboard. Bullock played Annie, a passenger who ends up driving the bus to keep it moving.
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Directed by Jan de Bont, it’s still considered an iconic 1990s action entry and was a hit for 20th Century Fox at the time –– it grossed over $350 million, or more than $750 million adjusted for inflation.
‘The Lake House’ saw the duo playing a lonely pair of people who occupy the same lakeside house –– but at different times. They exchange letters through a mystical mailbox and attempt to figure out their connection.
While it didn’t make the same sort of impact as their previous collaboration, Alejandro Agresti’s romantic drama took in $114 worldwide on a $40 million budget.
Now, per The Hollywood Reporter, they’ll be back starring in a movie together, a new romantic thriller that Amazon MGM Studios is looking to put together.
And the project is more than just a Reeves and Bullock reunion. The actors are also reteaming with Mark Gordon, who produced ‘Speed’. Gordon and writer Noah Oppenheim brought the idea for the project to Reeves and Bullock, who went on to develop the film with them.
Bullock will service as a producer via Fortis Films, while Reeves, Gordon and Bibby Dunn are aboard via The Mark Gordon Company, as well as Oppenheim and Sarah Bremner through their Prologue Entertainment company.
The exact plot details are being kept quiet for now, but the Reporter’s story mentions that the story is “propulsive.”
Will the new movie see them trapped aboard a cruise ship that… No, wait, they tried that already –– and Keanu didn’t even show up for that one.
The script comes from Oppenheim, who co-wrote 2016’s ‘Jackie,’ the movie about Jacqueline Kennedy dealing with the aftermath of JFK’s assassination that starred Natalie Portman.
Oppenheim also wrote movies including ‘The Maze Runner’ and, more recently, was one of the creators of Netflix thriller series ‘Zero Day,’ featuring Robert De Niro as a former President investigating an attack on the United States.
Where else can we see Keanu Reeves?
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Reeves, of course has been spending a lot of his time in recent years kicking much butt on the big screen as the title character in the ‘John Wick’ franchise.
To that end, he’ll show up in ‘Ballerina,’ the Ana de Armas-starring spin-off set within the ‘Wick’-verse. That movie is out on June 6th.
Studio Lionsgate is committed to the idea of developing a fifth entry in the ‘Wick’ franchise, despite the fact that Reeves’ character seemingly died at the end of the fourth.
He was most recently heard, rather than seen, as Shadow in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ and has a few non-‘Wick’ movies coming up including new comedy ‘Good Fortune’ directed by Aziz Ansari, which sees him as a hapless guardian angel.
(L to R) Goran Visnjic, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in ‘Practical Magic’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Bullock’s last main starring role was in 2022’s action comedy ‘The Lost City,’ though she had a cameo in ‘Bullet Train’ the same year.
She’s attached to crime thriller ‘Vigilance’ and has said she’d be happy to return for the sequel to 1998’s comedy drama ‘Practical Magic.’
When will the new Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock movie be in theaters?
Amazon MGM Studios has yet to announce when this one might be released. And with no director attached yet, it’ll take a while for the movie to come together.
Keanu Reeves in ‘The Replacements’. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
(Left) Director Justin Lin on the set of ‘Fast Five.’ Photo: Universal Pictures. (Right) Keanu Reeves in the Roku Channel docuseries ‘Visionaries’. Photo: Roku Channel.
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Justin Lin is aboard the ‘BRZRKR’ movie.
Keanu Reeves is starring as a character from the comic he created.
‘Mother/Android’s Mattson Tomlin wrote the script.
Back in 2021, Keanu Reeves –– no stranger to action on screen thanks to the ‘Matrix’ and ‘John Wick’ movie series –– added another creative string to his bow via comic book title ‘BRZRKR,’ which debuted in 2021 via Boom! Studios.
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Partly funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, the comic features an extremely powerful character –– who most certainly looks like his creator –– battling his way through enemies while also contemplating the end of his own immortal existence.
Reeves had always intended to adapt the comic book into movies and beyond, and the big screen version took a big step forward as The Hollywood Reporter brings word that ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise filmmaking veteran Justin Lin is on board to direct.
The official synopsis of the Boom! title describes it as a “brutally epic saga about an immortal warrior’s 80,000 year fight through the ages. The man known only as ‘B’ is half-mortal and half-god, cursed and compelled to violence, even at the sacrifice of his sanity. But after wandering the earth for centuries, B may have finally found a refuge — working for the U.S. government to fight the battles too violent and too dangerous for anyone else. In exchange, B will be granted the one thing he desires — the truth about his endless blood-soaked existence… and how to end it.”
Reeves came up with the concept and the story, and developed it with artist Ron Garney and Eisner-nominated comics author Matt Kindt, who has previously written titles for Marvel, DC and Valiant and who was behind the creator-owned comic ‘Mind MGMT.’
The first issue remains one of the best-selling comics of the last decade, selling over 600,000 copies. The title itself has sold over 3.5 million worldwide, including all collected issues and specials.
In 2024, a spin-off novel titled ‘The Book of Elsewhere,’ written by China Miéville and Reeves, became a New York Times best-seller after being published by Del Rey, the imprint from Penguin Random House, the publisher that also owns Boom!
Here’s what Reeves told a San Diego Comic-Con crowd about his idea back in 2022:
“I had this idea — I wanted a character to punch people through their chest and rip their arms off. And the idea of someone who was cursed with violence and trying to figure out who they are and how they came to be and kind of reclaiming their humanity.
And he also talked up both his comics fandom and his elation at seeing his creation in print:
“I was that kid coming back with bags of comic books, and it was always a good day. I was like, ‘I’m kind of an adult, and this is the best f****** Christmas I’ve ever f****** had.’”
Mattson Tomlin, who wrote the likes of ‘Project Power’ and ‘Little Fish’ and both scripted and directed ‘Mother/Android,’ is aboard to handle the ‘BRZRKR’ screenplay.
In addition to the movie, Tomlin has also been involved with an anime take on the title, which will expand and explore different elements of the title.
Reeves is naturally involved, and will voice the main character.
There will also be plenty of merchandise headed our way via IMG.
What else is Justin Lin working on?
(L to R) Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto in ‘Star Trek Beyond’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
News of Lin tackling the ‘BRZRKR’ movie comes as he’s just had some help from Reeves with his own latest project.
Having worked for a few years in the blockbuster sphere on several ‘Fast’ movies and ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ while also handling episodes of ‘True Detective’ and the pilot of the ‘Magnum P.I.’ reboot, Lin decided to return to his indie roots for a new film called ‘Last Days’ about the tragic story of missionary John Allen Chau, who was killed by a tribe living on an island in the Indian Ocean.
He was in pre-production on the movie when the financing fell through, but then the day was saved by a particular “angel investor” who offered their own money: one K. Reeves.
Here’s what Lin told Collider about the movie’s issues and Reeves stepping in to help:
“For a year, we thought we had our financing, and I met some people, and it turned out not to be true. It’s one of those darkest moments where I felt like, ‘I tried my best. We tried.’ I felt really bad because (actor) Sky Yang was already prepping, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I think that’s it…’ Then Keanu called out of the blue, and he’s like, ‘I heard you’re having some problems. I want to help.’ It was so inspirational.”
The movie premiered at Sundance this year, but has yet to confirm a release date.
Netflix, which has the rights to both the movie and is backing the anime spin-off, has yet to formally announce a launch date.
But given the company, we’d likely expect to see this one hit its servers rather than having a big theatrical release. Don’t expect to see it much before 2026, either.
(L to R) Gard Hollinger and Keanu Reeves in the Roku Channel docuseries ‘Visionaries’. Photo: Roku Channel.
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