It felt like it went curiously under-hyped when it debuted (though did decently at the box office), but in the six months since its release, “John Wick” has steadily gathered the cult following it deserves. The Keanu Reeves actioner looked generic on the surface, but proved on further investigation to be stylish, unexpectedly funny, textured and full of some of the most thrilling shoot-outs since John Woo was good, and the men responsible, in large part, were stuntmen-turned-filmmmakers Chad Stahelski and David Leitch.
The duo, who’d worked with Keanu of old, directed the living shit out of their feature debut, and it’s unsurprising that they’ve become hot property since, signing on to direct Chris Pratt vehicle “Cowboy Ninja Viking” for Universal. And even bigger things might be in store, as Latino Review report that the pair are now being courted to helm one of Warner Bros’ upcoming DC superhero movies.
The site doesn’t know exactly which film Stahelski and Leitch are being looked at for, and it’s possible that the studio just set up a general meeting at this point. Right now, David Ayer’s doing “Suicide Squad,” Michelle MacLaren has “Wonder Woman”, Zack Snyder the two-part “Justice League,” while Jeff Nichols was said to be involved with “Aquaman” (though subsequent rumors have also linked “300” sequel director Noam Murro to the gig), and only this week we heard that Phil Lord and Chris Miller are wanted for “The Flash.” Could the “John Wick” helmers be potential Plan Bs if the “Aquaman” and “The Flash” helmers fall through? Or are they linked to “Shazam,” “Cyborg,” “Green Lantern,” a stand-alone “Batman” picture, or something else entirely (none of which are planned to arrive sooner than 2019 at present)?
DC have been playing their cards close to their chest so far, without the grand announcements of rivals Marvel, so it may be a while before we find out. Latino Review also report that in the new DC universe, Jared Leto’s Joker killed former Robin Jason Todd, whose uniform will be displayed in the Batcave, and that Red Hood, a villain who turns out to be the resurrected Todd, is likely to appear in future DC pictures — perhaps some kind of solo Batman adventure? Anyway, we’re still nearly a year from seeing any of these DC pictures on screen, with “Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice” set to hit screens on March 25th, 2016.