One of the surprise critical hits of 2014 was the action-thrillerJohn Wick, which earned $86 million worldwide from a $20 million budget. Shortly after the movie’s modest theatrical success, Lionsgate moved forward with a sequel,John Wick: Chapter 2, which bringsKeanu Reevesback as the title character. One of the other originalJohn Wickstars returning isIan McShane, whose character Winston ran the mysterious Continental Hotel, a hangout for assassins. While discussing his role in last night’sGame of Thrones, the actor shed new light on this sequel.
Back in April, the official synopsis forJohn Wick: Chapter 2was released, teasing thatKeanu Reeves' title character is forced out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowyinternational assassins' guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers. During an interview withEntertainment Weekly,Ian McShaneteased that the sequel has a similar premise to the first movie, while praising the new villain, played byRiccardo Scamarcio.
“I’m kind of the only one left from the first [John Wick]. This is same kind of premise. It’s not like two years later, but pretty soon after the first one.Keanu [Reeves]is a great guy. They got this terrific Italian kid, Riccardo Scamarcio, who plays the chief villain, who’s excellent, and we have a lot of stuff together. And the guy who directs it,Chad Stahelski, is really smart. He’s beenKeanu’s stunt guy for [nearly] 20 years and he’s studied muay-thai. He’s got every stunt man who’s available for [this film]. The action looks like it was done by somebody out of Hong Kong instead of Hollywood which I always think is a great sight.”
Despite his contention thatIan McShane’s Winston is the “only one left” from the original, it has previously been reported that originalJohn WickstarsJohn Leguizamo(Aurelio),Bridget Moynahan(Helen),Thomas Sadoski(Jimmy) andLance Reddick(Charon) will also be back. New cast members includeLaurence Fishburneas an assassin known as The Bowery King,Common,Ruby RoseandPeter Stormare. When asked to elaborate on the plot,Ian McShanereveals thatJohn Wickdoes get a new dog, but now he’s on the run from Russian mobsters.
“Keanu gets a new dog. But yes, it’s about what comes on him after that. It’s all about theassassin’s code, if you like. He’s killed a Russian gangster and now there’s a contract out on him, so it’s a continuation. I loved the first one. This could be even better than the first.”
Chad Stahelskidirected the originalJohn WickwithDavid Leitch, but he’ll be directingJohn Wick 2by himself. Both filmmakers had planned to tackle the sequel together, but they decided to split up for the time being, withChad Stahelskitaking on the sequel andDavid LeitchdirectingThe Coldest City, which hasCharlize Theronset to star.John WickwriterDerek Kolstadreturned to write the script. It isn’t known when we may expect the first trailer forJohn Wick Chapter Two, which has been set for release on July 03, 2025. We’ll be sure to keep you posted with more updates forJohn Wick Chapter 2as soon as we have more information.
