We’d assumed that both Chad Stahelski and David Leitch were returning to direct JOHN WICK 2, but it seems that one of them has lost that loving feeling.
Stahelski will direct the sequel on his own, with Leitch opting out for another, as yet unannounced project. Apparently, the pair both started getting big Hollywood offers right after WICK 1 hit it big, and someone evidently made one of those unrefusable, SUPERMAN RETURNS offers to Leitch, so he’s out. He’ll be executive producing, but all that coolness (including those crazy stunts, Stahelski/Leitch’s specialty) will undoubtedly be conceived and executed by Stahelski, solo.
I would be distressed if, say, one half of Neveldine/Taylor decided to direct CRANK 3 solo, but we haven’t seen enough of Stahelski/Leitch yet to truly define their collaborative style. We don’t know who’s bringing what to the table, but it should be obvious fairly quickly into WICK 2 whether Stahelski had the particular eye for story, stunts, or (hopefully) both. If he can shepherd this franchise as confidently on his own as he did with Leitch backing him up, then we’ll have nothing to worry about, and JOHN WICK will blow us out of our socks once more when it comes out next year.
What do you guys think? Does this spell trouble for the Baba Yega?
