The great expansion of the John Wick universe could be set to include an unlikely spinoff: an original samurai Western.
As part of a Variety article on up-and-coming screenwriters, Austin Everett, who adapted the novel Traveler by Joseph Eckert, mentioned — almost in passing — that he’s penned an original samurai Western set in the John Wick universe. “That’s probably as much as I can say,” he added, before retreating into the shadows.
That’s all we have, which is next to nothing, but enough to set John Wick fans going. While the John Wick universe has so-far remained firmly entrenched in the present day, the idea that the John Wick treatment could be given to other time periods is a tantalizing one.
But there are some who are questioning John Wick’s great advance into spinoff territory. While each mainline entry in the film series has made more money than the last, the disappointing performance from the Ana de Armas spinoff Ballerina left Lionsgate facing a $94 million quarterly net loss — despite a cameo from Keanu Reeves’ John Wick himself.
Ballerina ended its worldwide box office run on $132 million, versus a reported budget of $90 million. By comparison, John Wick: Chapter 4 made $447.3 million, on a budget of $100 million. Could John Wick fatigue set in? Does John Wick only work when John Wick himself is the star?
Lionsgate seems to be soldiering ahead regardless. Two additional John Wick spinoffs are already in development, including an anime prequel that will tell the story of John Wick’s ‘Impossible Task,’ and a side-story featuring Donnie Yen’s character, Caine. There are also plans for a full John Wick: Chapter 5, once again starring Keanu Reeves, though this still seems some way off. In June, director Chad Stahelski said he was still trying to work out a story for the sequel in order to work around the climactic ending of John Wick: Chapter 4.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
