John Wick's Chad Stahelski Addresses If He'll Ever Direct in the MCU

By Nathaniel Brail

Lionsgate recently released what they called the final entry into the John Wick franchise with John Wick: Chapter 4, and it definitely felt like an ending. John Wick: Chapter 4 featured a few major deaths and leaves things off in a way that you feel this is the last time you will see the titular character. But with John Wick: Chapter 4's success at the box office, the studio may be tempted to bring the franchise back for one more bout. Director Chad Stahelski returned to the helm for the film, and after its release, it seems like he may want to take a break and work on something else. Although it appears that the next thing probably won't be a project set in Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe, In a new interview with The Direct, Stahelski revealed that he wouldn't want to direct an MCU movie due to the limitations of the studio sets.

"I was one of many that brought in takes of it, sure. That's the one property I always thought was fascinating. I'm always fascinated by vampire and martial arts. So it seemed like a good mix.," Stahelski revealed. "Honestly, Blade was probably my favorite kick out of that. But like, look, I'm a big fan of that genre. I love Batman. I love the Marvel world. I love the first 'Iron Man' to death. I love James Gunn's first 'Guardians' to death. These are all milestones, I think, in cinema. I just also think that there are people that get that IP better than me. I know my sweet spot. I do better when there are no limits. I do better when I can kind of bend the rules. I like to be a little bit more subversive. So it's kind of weird."

What Next for the John Wick Franchise?

"In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment. We're going to give John Wick a rest," Stahelski shared with The Hollywood Reporter. "I'm sure the studio has a plan. If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we'll take a quiet minute. Wicks always, for some weird reason, always get the latest release date in Japan. It's always like, three months later. If it's the same this time, we'll do a Japanese tour and release the movie in September. Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we'll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, 'What do you think?' We'll have a couple 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins. If those ideas stick, maybe we'll make a movie."

"I'm actually not involved in four and five," creator Derek Kolstad previously told Collider. "No. At a certain stage of the studio will tell you, your creation is graduated, and you wish it well. I'm still close with Chad [Stahelski], still close with Dave [Leitch], and I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm excited to see."

The John Wick franchise is also getting a TV expansion in the form of the spinoff series The Continental, which follows the infamous assassins world hotel. There's also another spinoff called Ballerina that will star Ana De Armas with Reeves expected to appear in some shape or form.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is exclusively in theaters now!

What do you think of Chad Stahelski's comments? Would you like to see him helm an MCU movie? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!

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