Keanu Reeves Describes New John Wick 2 Characters, Calls It A Third Degree Black Belt Movie

John Wick was one of the most acclaimed films of 2014 and one which cemented Keanu Reeves right back on Hollywood's map as an action hero.

The Matrix alum is on his way to turning the John Wick character into a franchise and it sounds like the inbound sequel will be cranking up the action big time, however, when it came to making a sequel, Reeves didn't want to jump in haphazardly. He and the team needed to be sure there was enough reason within the character and story to make a satisfying film which could live up to the original.

"For us it was just what is the next chapter? What is the continuation of this story?" Reeves explains. "Opening up the world – the underground world. The world behind the world in terms of the assassins. Kind of evolving the action – if the first one was a black belt, then this one is third degree black belt. It's such a fun project and a great character."

Reeves is joined by fellow Matrix alumni, Laurence Fishburne for John Wick: Chapter Two. The reunion might get ugly, though, seeing as Reeves' description of the new character sounds like a possible new foe.

"Laurence has this fantastic role as a character in the Underworld called The Bowery King" Reeves says. "He plays such a great character in the piece and he brings of course humour, intelligence, charisma and fascination – he's such an incredible actor and it was a pleasure to work with him again."

"Stormare has more of a cameo in it but again he brings such fun and mystery and this mixture of groundedness and the surreal," Reeves says of the other franchise newcomer Peter Stormare. Stormare's character tend to die in just about every role he plays, ranging from Bad Boys II to The Blacklist (spoiler alert) so it's possible he drops in for a little while and gets killed off. That said, Stormare is a very talented actor, so it would be fun to see the cameo be a set up for a potential third installment.

John Wick: Chapter Two will arrive in theaters February 10, 2017.

source: IGN