While franchises continue to be the bread and butter of the modern Hollywood landscape, genuinely great sequels are still hard to come by. Not only does a director have to honor the spirit of the original movie, but they must also create something that stands on its own. To date, James Cameron's Aliens remains arguably the gold standard for thrilling sequels, and it's a film that definitely inspired Chad Stahelski's take on John Wick: Chapter 2. The director elaborated:
Once we stopped worrying about ourselves it was fun. I mean is it as good as the first one? I don't know. Did we go better in some ways? Yes. Did we experiment with the characters more? Yes. Everything there is better. Is the enjoyment better? I think the enjoyment is there, but it's different. All the other director friends I have don't like doing sequels or don't like doing other people's sequels, which is even worse I think. But then there's other examples. I think the best example is Ridley Scott. He did the first Alien. James Cameron created Aliens. Cameron, I think think is a genius for that. Going, "I'm not making the same Aliens again, I'm just gonna make it." If I could be so bold as to take that similarity then so be it.
Chad Stahelski recently sat down with Collider and explained the process of bringing John Wick: Chapter 2 to life. Drawing comparisons between the original John Wick and the upcoming sequel, Stahelski explained that John Wick: Chapter 2 will take the franchise in a radically different direction -- not unlike James Cameron's' Aliens.
This seems like a fairly apt comparison. James Cameron's Aliens has become iconic for the way in which it took a universe established by Ridley Scott, and did something entirely new with it. While Alien played out like a slasher film in space, Aliens completely upended the formula and shifted to focus towards terror, rather than horror. With that in mind, it seems that John Wick: Chapter 2 will take the DNA of the original film, and try to do something radically different with it as well.
One look at the first official trailer for John Wick: Chapter 2 will instantly tell you everything that you need to know about the film's perfect blend of old and new. Check it out below to see for yourself:
Chad Stahelski's John Wick: Chapter 2 will bring Keanu Reeves back into action as titular assassin John Wick. After achieving his revenge at the finale of the first film, the sequel will see him called out of retirement to honor a "blood oath" that he owes to a former business associate. This mission will send him to Rome, and as you probably guessed, he will rack up a huge body count along the way.
We will know exactly how different John Wick: Chapter 2 is from the original when the highly anticipated sequel finally debuts. CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to John Wick's next adventure as new details become available to us. John Wick: Chapter 2 will hit theaters on February 10, 2017.
