News Analysis India

Tag: John Wick

  • Ian McShane coming back as Winston for ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Veteran actor Ian McShane is officially returning for the fourth instalment of Keanu Reeves-led action franchise “John Wick”.

    The upcoming movie will see Reeves reprise his character of the super-assassin John Wick in the Lionsgate project.

    According to Deadline, the studio has closed the deal with 78-year-old McShane to once again play his role of Winston in the film series.

    “I couldn’t be happier than to welcome Ian McShane back to ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. He is not only an amazing actor but is an indispensable collaborator who has helped define the world of John Wick,” director Chad Stahelski said.

    Stahelski, who helmed the previous three films in the series, is directing the new instalment from a script by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch.

    Reeves is joined by a host of newcomers, including Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, Shamier Anderson, Bill Skarsgard and Hiroyuki Sanada.

    Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Stahelski are producing the film, with Reeves and Louise Rosner serving as executive producers.

    The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on May 27, 2022.

    The first “John Wick” film was released in 2014, with “John Wick: Chapter 2” (2017) and “John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum” (2019) as its follow-ups.

  • Donnie Yen joins Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick 4’

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Actor-filmmaker Donnie Yen, best known for his roles in films such as “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” and the “IP Man” franchise, is all set to star with Keanu Reeves in Chad Stahelski-directed “John Wick 4”.

    Yen will play an old friend of Reeves’ character of super-assassin John Wick in the Lionsgate movie.

    The friends share a similar history and many of the enemies, according to Deadline.

    The actor, who is famous for his unique style of screen combat, is one of the most successful actor-filmmakers from the East.

    “John Wick 4” is written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch while Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Stahelski are producing the film, with Reeves and Louise Rosner attached as executive producers.

    Filming begins this year on location in France, Germany and Japan.

    “We are very lucky to have Donnie Yen join the franchise.

    I am looking forward to working with him in this exciting new role,” Stahelski said.

    The filmmaker has directed all the three previous films in the Reeves-led franchise — “John Wick” (2014), “John Wick: Chapter 2” (2017) and “John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum” (2019).

  • Pop star Rina Sawayama joins ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Japanese-British pop superstar Rina Sawayama will make her acting debut with Keanu Reeves-starrer “John Wick: Chapter 4”.

    Reeves and filmmaker Chad Stahelski are returning for the new movie in the franchise after collaborating on three earlier parts — “John Wick” (2014), “John Wick: Chapter 2” (2017) and “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” (2019).

    According to Deadline, the details of Sawayama’s character have been kept under wraps.

    The pop star was born in Japan and raised in North London.

    She came to pop stardom from Cambridge University where she studied politics, psychology and sociology.

    Sawayama funded her early music through proceeds from modeling, before signing a record deal.

    After grabbing attention with singles like “XS”, “Comme des Garcons”, and “Chosen Family”, she released her album “Sawayama”, which was a big hit.

    “John Wick: Chapter 4” will be produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and Stahelski.

    Reeves will executive produce along with Louise Rosner.

    The movie will start production later this year with shooting on location in France, Germany and Japan.

  • ‘John Wick’ spinoff series ‘The Continental’ to focus on young Winston

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: “The Continental”, the TV spinoff to Keanu Reeves-starrer action franchise, is set 40 years before the first movie and focuses on a young Winston, the owner of the famous hotel for assassins.

    Lionsgate TV chairman Kevin Beggs said “The Continental” will have only three 90-minute episodes, reported Deadline.

    Beggs said there were different pitches but they finally settled on the current plotline as they did not want the spinoff to impact the future installments of the movie in any way.

    The winning pitch came from the creative team of the show Wayne, a YouTube Premium exclusive.

    “We were really blown away because it solved a bunch of problems and was super exciting, about a crumbling New York in the 1970s with a garbage strike that has piled up bags of garbage to the third floor of most brownstones….the mafia muscling in on that business which is why in The Sopranos he’s in the sanitation business, and other things that are really real as an interesting backdrop to explore the origins of The Continental which is famously within the movie franchise the assassin’s hotel in which you cannot kill anyone on the hotel grounds, but of course if you step one foot off you’re fair game, and that’s employed to great effect in many of the plots in the movies. Running all of that is Winston,” he explained.

    In the movies, Winston is played by Ian McShane.

    Beggs said they are exploring a young Wilson in “The Continental” and “how it came to be that he and his team of confederates found their way into this hotel which we have met for the first time in the movie franchise 40 years later.”

    “That’s the arena. I won’t give away more than that, but Starz really leaned into this take also, and they have been great collaborators. And how we’ve approached this first season is as three essentially 90-minute events which you could construe as a limited series or a limited event series.”

    Reeves may not be in front of the camera but he is in talks to executive produce the series.

    The series has no release date but the fourth film is slated to release on May 27, 2022.