Chad Stahelski made his mark in the industry with his incredible journey of getting into the director’s seat from being a stuntman. This could be the advantage he has over a lot of people that makes his action sequences insanely well-produced. As a result, the John Wick franchise has seen its growth from a single $75 million movie to the legacy it has turned into now.
With four movies in the bag, and a spin-off arriving next year, Stahelski has surely gotten his point across, that it is entirely possible to make legacies out of previously unknown characters if you just know how. However, it turns out he has another interest that very few people know about.
While people do know his love for the outlandish, larger-than-life superhero franchises, they were unaware that he wanted to collaborate with Marvel Studios to pursue that interest further on. Although that idea seems shelved as of now, it has intrigued a lot of fans of both franchises.
Chad Stahelski wanted to collaborate with Marvel
In an exclusive interview with The Direct’s Klein Felt, Chad Stahelski divulged that he has always been intrigued by the fantasy world-building the superhero movies bring. He claimed that he absolutely loves Batman and 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.”
As a result, he wanted to collaborate with them on what seems to be his absolute favorite in that genre, which is the Blade franchise. According to him, that is one property that he “always thought was fascinating.” He added,
“I’m always fascinated by vampires and martial arts. So it seemed like a good mix.”
And so, he claims that like many others, he, “was one of many that brought in takes of it.” However, it did not really progress further. For that, he seems now quite content with as it stands, weirdly. According to him, now he feels like someone else might just get that IP a lot better than him, and how it might have taken away quite a good amount of freedom from him as a filmmaker.
Chad Stahelski’s John Wick legacy
Chad Stahelski seems to think of himself who gains more fulfillment from being, “a little bit more subversive.” He added, “I do better when there are no limits. I do better when I can kind of bend the rules.” And he seems to think that collaborating with MCU, even if it is his dream project, might have put that no-limits approach on the back seat. As such, he seems content now with what he is doing on his own.
He also elaborated on it a little more saying that even if it was about four to five years ago, he might have taken that leap, but now he feels like he has grown a lot as a filmmaker and so the limitations would only hinder his craft. He explained, “Feel comfortable in creating things. I feel comfortable working with other people to try and build something.”
And he feels that there are already so many people who are good at playing with existing IPs. So, he is gonna try doing things at his own pace and create his own target audience. He added further,
“I’m gonna go big and try to make our own stuff. Someone’s got to keep trying to get some new IP in the game. I think I’m gonna go try that for a little while.”
Well, given the massive success the ambitious John Wick franchise has gained over the years, with the last movie John Wick: Chapter 4 released in March 2023, and gaining a whopping $352 million at the box office, it can be agreed that he is indeed a master at his craft.
With Ballerina, a spin-off from the original movies, arriving next year with Keanu Reeves all set to reprise his role as John Wick in a cameo, the hype is out of this world for this cinematic universe Stahelski has pulled everyone in.
So, even as there is no surety of a possible collaboration with the MCU, fans seem hopeful to witness that someday, especially as the future of the John Wick franchise seems a little unsure after the release of the imminent projects, it might happen.
Ballerina is expected to be released on June 7th, 2024.
Source: The Direct
