Following years of working in Hollywood as a stuntman/stunt coordinator, Chad Stahelski launched his directorial career with 2014’s John Wick, which he co-helmed with David Leitch. Stahelski has since directed every subsequent John Wick movie on his own, including the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4, but he’s also been attaching his name to various other cinematic projects. Now another movie has been added to that development slate, but not to worry, John Wick fans, this won’t affect his forthcoming work on the Keanu Reeves-led action franchise.
Chad Stahelski has signed on to produce an adaptation of Shibumi, the 1979 novel written by Trevanian (the pseudonym for author Rodney William Whitaker). Stahelski will tackle the Warner Bros project through his 87Eleven production company, with partners Alex Young and Jason Spitz joining him as producers. While Deadline reports that Shibumi is being developed for Stahelski to potentially direct as well, the outlet also noted that the John Wick film series remains his “top priority,” so he won’t be leaving it behind anytime soon.
For those unfamiliar with Shibumi, the original novel was set in the 1970s and followed the clash between Mother Company, a conspiracy of energy companies that secretly controls most of the Western world, and an assassin named Nicholaï Hel. Trevanian passed away in 2005, and six years later, The Power of the Dog author Don Winslow wrote a Shibumi prequel novel called Satori, which explored Hel’s early years. Apparently Shibumi was one of Chad Stahelski’s favorite novels while growing up, so now he has the opportunity to help bring the film version to life after Warner Bros approached him to produce.
As things stand now, no actors have been lined up for Shibumi, although there was a point in time where Keanu Reeves was being looked at to lead it. As noted earlier, Shibumi joins a growing lineup of projects for Stahelski to choose from once he’s done with the John Wick universe. He’s also still working on the Highlander reboot now starring Henry Cavill, and in the last year, Stahelski’s boarded theMan from Nowhere remake, Classified (which is described as “Die Hard meets Indiana Jones) and the film adaptation of the Ghosts of Tsushima video game.
So clearly Chad Stahelski isn’t having any trouble keeping busy, but as far as the near future is concerned, he’s still focused on John Wick’s adventures. John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently filming, and while not officially confirmed yet, there’s a good chance Stahelski reprises his directorial duties for John Wick: Chapter 5, which has been greenlit. However, even when the time comes that Stahelski leaves the John Wick film series behind, either because it ends or he decides to pass the creative reins onto another director, it’s hard to say where Shibumi will rank in his list of priorities. If he decides to direct Shibumi, then it could be a long time before it hits the big screen, but if he decides to only produce and another director boards the project, that could allow it to come out much sooner.
Either way, we’ll keep you apprised on how Shibumi and Chad Stahelski’s other upcoming movies are coming along as more updates come in. John Wick: Chapter 4 opens in theaters on May 27, 2022, and you can discover what other movies come out next year with our 2022 release schedule.
