Director Chad Stahelski is a busy man, he’s currently shooting “John Wick 4” in Germany with Keanu Reeves back in the lead role, and Lionsgate already has plans for “John Wick 5.” But he’s lining up even more beyond the world of ‘Wick.’ Deadline reports that Warner Bros. and Stahelski are teaming to develop a new incarnation of the 1979 novel “Shibumi” written by Trevanian (“The Eiger Sanction“) with the possibility that it could turn into a directing vehicle.
The trade mentions that while Reeves isn’t officially attached, he was once involved in the lead role, and we could speculate he may return due to Shahelski’s involvement.
“Set in the 1970s and details the struggle between the ‘Mother Company,’ a conspiracy of energy companies that secretly controls much of the western world, and a highly-skilled assassin, Nicholaï Hel.”
Hel grew up in Shanghai to a Russian mother (former aristocrat) and then lived in Japan during WWII; after the war, he joins U.S. intelligence (asset for them being able to speak Russian and Chinese) before becoming a high-paid skillful assassin.
READ MORE: Chad Stahelski To Produce ‘Man From Nowhere’ Remake From ‘John Wick’ Writer
It wouldn’t be that shocking if “Shibumi” is many years away from production.
Stahelski, as mentioned at the top, is spinning a lot of plates he’s also attached to helm a reboot of the sci-fi action flick “Highlander” that has Henry Cavill (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” “Argylle“) reportedly in talks for a role, New Line Cinema’s hybrid action project “Classified,” Sony Pictures‘ samurai film “Ghost of Tsushima” based on the popular video game, producing a remake of “Man From Nowhere,” and is assumed to return sometime shortly to tackle the aforementioned “John Wick 5.”
If the studio wanted to pursue a franchise, Warner Bros. would have more source material to pull from as author Don Winslow (“Savages,” “The Force“) penned a prequel novel, “Satori,” following Hel in his early adulthood.