John Wick Director Says He Could Make More Sequels For The Rest Of His Career

John Wick Director Says He Could Make More Sequels For The Rest Of His Career

The John Wick film franchise has only been growing in popularity as it has progressed, and while many might have thought that John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum was looking to wrap up a solid trilogy, the truth is that sequels are still very much a possibility. Franchise director Chad Stahelski says that he could potentially end up just making these movies for the rest of his carrer, and if that, happened, that'd be ok. According to Stahelski...

I enjoy making these movies because there’s no limit. We create our own mythology, and we have a studio (Lionsgate) that both stays out of our way and supports us on the wacky decisions. If people go see the movie, and it makes money, and they came back to us, Keanu and I have ideas for days. It’s a fun world. I could live here for the rest of my career. If people like it and want to watch more, I could think of way worse ways to spend your career. We’ll let the audience figure that out.

While we don't need to dive too deep into spoiler territory, it seems quite likely that John Wick: Chapter 4 is a strong possibility, and the new movie looks to have even set the stage for a spinoff film. The franchise is only growing from here, but Chad Stahelski tells EW that he's cool with that.

The director says he was far from this confident when the series began. He felt the first John Wick would bomb and end his directing career before it ever got started. Instead, the film was a solid success that has since spawned two sequels, each a bigger box office hit than the last. While we're only at the first weekend for the newest film, it had a bigger opening than either of the two previous movies.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum made more money at the domestic box office this past weekend than the original; movie did in its entire domestic run. The same was true globally. John Wick: Chapter 4 hasn't been officially confirmed, but it seems to be an almost foregone conclusion. Pencil it in for May 2021.

Based on the franchise's success, the biggest hurdle to getting lots more John Wick movies is probably not going to be the studio. Lionsgate will almost certainly want to keep this train rolling. If the creatives behind the series were getting tired of it, that would be an issue, but by all accounts, they're not.

In addition to Chad Stahelski saying he's willing to keep making the movies, Keanu Reeves as also said he'll keep making them as long as the audience is interested. With both the lead actor and the director willing to keep making these movies it seems quite likely we'll keep getting them, which, if the quality level remains as high as it has been, will make a lot of fans very happy.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum is in theaters now.

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Ian McShane's John Wick 3 Teases Are Big, Good And ... Cryptic

Ian McShane's John Wick 3 Teases Are Big, Good And ... Cryptic

God love Ian McShane. The man is a gift, and he is never dull. The 76-year-old actor is out there promoting American Gods, the Deadwood movie, the Hellboy reboot, and -- of course -- the new John Wick movie. McShane's Winston returns for John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, which opens in May. Ask him about the movie, and this is what he'll say:

That will be big and that will be good.

Slow your spoilers, man! That was Ian McShane to the New York Times, as part of a larger interview about his many upcoming projects. It ain't much, but he's right that the third John Wick movie will be big -- it's meant to have the highest death count of the franchise so far, and the director said it's about 20% more movie than Chapter 2.

The follow-up question to Ian McShane added more potential clues. Or it might just confuse you.

Ian McShane's John Wick character Winston is the owner of the Continental Hotel, which is neutral ground for the criminal underworld. John Wick (Keanu Reeves) did a major no-no in the second movie to kill on Continental grounds. He was excommunicated, with a $14 million global contract out for his life. Everyone is after him. But Winston, that old softie, gave Mr. Wick a one-hour head start. Winston also gave John a Marker for potential use as a favor.

Ian McShane was asked if there would be payback against Winston for letting John Wick get away. Here's his answer:

Well, the High Table doesn’t like anybody stepping out of line so maybe they’ll take me to task, giving John an out, even. And you’ve got Laurence Fishburne and me, and maybe we get together, maybe we’re unvirtuous. Who knows? Because nothing is the same.

Nothing is the same? Yes, Laurence Fishburne is also returning as underground crime boss The Bowery King, and one of the first photos promoting John Wick 3 showed Winston and The Bowery King standing together. Here is that photo:

Are they plotting to help John? Just plotting to help themselves if the High Table turns on them? What's this about nothing being the same?

Ian McShane had previously teased a lot of "shifting alliances" in John Wick 3, so maybe that ties into this potentially unvirtuous team-up.

Speaking of the High Table, John Wick 3 sees the addition of Anjelica Huston as The Director, a member of the High Table who has a connection to John Wick's past. Halle Berry joins the movie as assassin Sofia, who also has a connection to John's past. So we're going to get to know more people who knew John way back when. It sounds like maybe not everyone on the planet will be trying to kill John to get that money, but he'll be facing quite a few foes ahead -- some new, some familiar. Thankfully he has his own dog by his side, plus two more that Halle Berry's Sofia has on hand.

What will Winston's role be in all of this be? We'll have to wait and see. Ian McShane also echoed what he had previously said about maybe doing a voice-over for The Continental TV spinoff series, but not appearing himself as Winston. There haven't been many details on that John Wick series yet, but it's meant to be set in Los Angeles, as opposed to the New York hotel of the John Wick films.

John Wick 3 -- directed by Keanu Reeves' former stunt double from The Matrix -- opens in theaters May 17, as one of the many films to keep an eye on with our 2019 movie release date schedule. Here's what the "Parabellum" of the title means, per Keanu himself.

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The Batman’s First Two Villains Have Reportedly Been Revealed

The Batman’s First Two Villains Have Reportedly Been Revealed

Last night, the news broke that Robert Pattinson, at the bare minimum, is one of the top contenders to play Batman next on the big screen, if not close to signing a deal. We’ll have to wait and see if Pattinson does indeed end up leading The Batman or if the eponymous role will go to someone like Nicholas Hoult, but for now, some news about Batman’s rogues gallery in the upcoming DC Extended Universe movie has come out. Get ready for some Batman Returns déjà vu, because evidently Penguin and Catwoman will be among the film’s baddies.

To be up front, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Penguin, real name Oswald Cobblepot, will appear in The Batman. Last summer, it was reported that both the Caped Crusader’s next movie and Birds of Prey were considering using the beak-nosed umbrella enthusiast. Since then, it’s been revealed that Birds of Prey is using Roman Sionis, a.k.a. Black Mask, as its main antagonist, and he’ll be accompanied by Victor Zsasz. Then in January, word came in that Penguin would indeed show up in The Batman, although this hasn’t been officially confirmed.

However, THR did reveal today that “another purrfect character” will appear in The Batman. Granted, while Catwoman isn’t technically outright named, unless director/writer Matt Reeves is wanting to give the significantly lesser-known Batman baddie-turned-anti-hero Catman his time to shine, then we can reasonably assume this is Selina Kyle who’s being talked about.

Penguin and Catwoman have been part of The Batman mythos since almost the very beginning, although nowadays the latter is frequently depicted as an anti-hero who is still the Dark Knight’s most recurring love interest. The characters, played by Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer, respectively, famously teamed up in 1992’s Batman Returns, and while that movie remains Penguin’s last live action theatrical appearance thus far, Catwoman was played in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises by Anne Hathaway. Penguin and Catwoman were also recently main characters on the TV series Gotham, played by Robin Lord Taylor and Camren Bicondova, respectively.

It’s also worth noting that it doesn’t look like Penguin and Catwoman will be the only villains to appear in The Batman. Matt Reeves has previously said that the movie will feature a “rogues gallery,” and THR has heard from a source that as many as six bad guys could show up, with Collider hearing rumors that Riddler could be part of this group.

Aside from the 1966 Batman movie, which saw Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman teaming up, the live action Batman movies have never exceeded having three villains per story (not including organized crime figures), so to potentially see half a dozen colorful baddies show up is intriguing. Hopefully this doesn’t result in the story being weighed down by so many people, but Spider-Man: Homecoming did prove you can have a collection of supporting and minor villains who don’t take away from the menace of the main threat.

No specific story details for The Batman have been revealed yet other than Matt Reeves saying it will be a noir-driven tale that highlights Bruce Wayne’s detective skills. And while the actor who plays Batman next, whether it’s Robert Pattinson or someone else, will be younger than Ben Affleck’s iteration, this movie will not be an origin story.

The Batman is scheduled to begin production within a year and will hit theaters on June 25, 2021. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage, and if you’re wondering what else is coming down the DCEU pipeline, look through our comprehensive guide.

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Quentin Tarantino Says Star Trek Movie Is Still A ‘Very Big Possibility’

Quentin Tarantino Says Star Trek Movie Is Still A ‘Very Big Possibility’

After more than a decade away from the television realm, the Star Trek franchise is finally getting small screen representation again through CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery, and more shows like Picard, Lower Decks and the untitled Nickelodeon series are on the way. On the film side of things, though, things are murky, as it doesn’t look like Star Trek 4, i.e. the next installment of the Kelvin timeline, is happening anytime soon, if at all.

Star Trek: Discovery has made its epic return to CBS All Access. New season is now streaming. Try 1 week FREE!

Then there’s the mysterious Star Trek movie that Quentin Tarantino pitched to Paramount in 2017, which The Revenant writer Mark L. Smith is writing. There haven’t been any major updates on the development of this project lately, but now Tarantino has said that there hasn’t any major movement on it, the prospect of him directing a Star Trek movie is still on the table. In his words:

It's a very big possibility. I haven't been dealing with those guys for a while 'cause I've been making my movie. But we've talked about a story and a script. The script has been written and when I emerge my head like Punxsutawney Phil, post- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, we'll pick up talking about it again.

That makes sense. The news about Quentin Tarantino pitching a Star Trek movie idea came around the same time as he was starting to put together Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which included moving the film from The Weinstein Company to Sony Pictures. In the year and a half (give or take) since then, Tarantino has shot Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and is currently on the “mix-stage” of his latest movie, as he also mentioned in his interview with Slashfilm.

So for now, Quentin Tarantino’s attention remains focused on finishing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but once that’s in the can, it sounds like he’ll be revisiting his potential future with the Star Trek franchise. There’s still no 100% guarantee that he ends up directing this movie, but it does bode well that the script is all ready to go

Considering the current state of the Star Trek film series, this Quentin Tarantino movie might be the only way to keep things going in the near future. While it initially looked like Star Trek 4 was finally moving forward, with S.J. Clarkson being tapped to direct, last summer brought things to a grinding halt due to Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth getting into a contract dispute with Paramount.

Then in January, it was reported that S.J. Clarkson had departed Star Trek 4 in order to direct and executive produce the pilot for the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, and that Star Trek 4 had been “shelved.” Maybe that will change later down the line, but for now, this timeline’s USS Enterprise crew isn’t going on any more big screen adventures.

The Events That Led To Star Trek 4 Landing In Development Hell

Back to the Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie, no plot details have been revealed yet, but Karl Urban, who played the latest version of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, said that from what little he’s heard, Tarantino’s idea is “bananas.” Much like how 2009’s Star Trek took the Star Trek film series in a new direction following over two decades of movies following the Original Series and Next Generation crews, perhaps Tarantino’s Star Trek movie could similarly revitalize the film series now that it’s in limbo.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the biggest updates concerning the Star Trek fans. Quentin Tarantino fans can look forward to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood coming out on July 26. Don’t forget to also look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are coming out later this year.

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There’s A Petition To Change Tony Stark’s Avengers: Endgame Fate, Because Of Course

There’s A Petition To Change Tony Stark’s Avengers: Endgame Fate, Because Of Course

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame has been in theaters for over a month, and the moviegoing public still hasn't stopped discussing every frame of the massive blockbuster. The Russo Brothers had an impossible task ahead of them, wrapping up a 22 movie narrative, and following the massive success of last year's Infinity War. And they succeeded in doing just that, and gave a fitting end to Captain America, Iron Man, and Black Widow.

Tony Stark's story came to an end in the final battle of Endgame, swiping the Infinity Stones and snapping Thanos and his forces out of existence forever. But the power and radiation from the stones was too strong, and it cost the original MCU hero his life. Now there's a petition that Marvel give him a happier ending. Because, of course.

The fan-made petition comes to us from Change.org, titled "BRING TONY STARK BACK TO LIFE" The online campaign has 16,852 signatures at the time of writing this story, with those passionate Marvel fans wishing that Iron Man was given a happier ending a la Steve Rogers. His sacrifice was perhaps the most emotional aspect of Endgame, but the petition and its followers maintain that Tony deserved better.

The MCU was throw into chaos following Avengers: Infinity War, as half of all life was wiped out by Thanos' snap. The five year time jump revealed that Earth was still very much recovering from such a loss, and Tony Stark and Pepper Potts were one of the few lucky ones to keep their family intact. They had each other after the dusting, and even got married and had their daughter Morgan.

Tony actually found happiness, despite Thanos' assault on the galaxy. That's why Iron Man originally rejected the idea of Scott Lang's time travel plan; he was scared of losing everything he'd gained in the past five years. Ultimately Pepper Potts encourages him to rejoin the Avengers for Time Heist, a decision that brought 2014 Thanos to the present and ultimately cost Tony his life.

Related: The Game Of Thrones Writers, After Years Of Great Work, Deserve Better Than This Petition

The petition to change Tony's fate is a symptom of a larger trend within the entertainment world, where fans feel like they can will studios and filmmakers into re-doing projects to their liking. We saw something similar happen with the series finale of HBO's Game of Thrones. Fan outrage regarding Season 8's contents launched a petition in hopes of the entire season being reshot.

It's basically an impossibility that either of these campaigns will go anywhere, but Marvel Studios is likely happy to see so much engagement from the fandom-- even those were unhappy with the contents of Avengers: Endgame. Tony Stark's death was extremely powerful, and with Robert Downey Jr.'s contract with Marvel officially up, smart money says we won't see the billionaire playboy genius philanthropist back on the silver screen.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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Triple Frontier's Twist Was Actually Ben Affleck's Idea

Triple Frontier's Twist Was Actually Ben Affleck's Idea

Warning: spoilers for Netflix's Triple Frontier are in play. If you haven't seen the film yet, and want to remain unspoiled, bookmark this page and come back later.

It's a moment that comes as a shock to everyone who watches Triple Frontier: the moment where Ben Affleck's Tom “Redfly” Davis is taken out by a fatal headshot, thanks to a rash action he'd taken earlier in the film. The karmic consequence of killing a handful of farmers, it's a kill that shocks and surprises anyone who would expect someone like Affleck to make it to the end of the movie. But as co-writer/director J.C. Chandor recently explained, the decision to kill Ben Affleck's character was not only spawned in a re-write, it was from a note from Affleck himself. Chandor's version of events goes like this:

When I first read the script it was a secondary character [who got killed], I can’t even remember which one of the other guys it was. It was someone else… It was actually in meeting with Ben for the first time, he suggested it. He said would you ever be willing to do that? I had actually moved it to a different character than the one that I originally read [in Mark Boal’s draft of the script]. I won’t get into who, but it was to another character and it was very secondary. Ben said, ‘Would you ever be willing to, if I got the studio to agree to it, to allow that to be me?'

Killing off any random character that wasn't Ben Affleck might have worked in Triple Frontier. Doubly so, considering that by time Affleck's lead is killed while defending his friends in a mountain range fire fight, it really felt like the whole team would be walking away from this caper with their lives. But even in the movies, when it's your time to go, it's time to go.

According to remarks Ben Affleck made to Collider during the Triple Frontier press day, that decision was inspired by, among other things, a random crime drama from the 1980's. That specific film, and the effect it had on Affleck's decision, can be read below:

I thought that would be interesting and I wanted to see somebody actually pay a price for what happened. I always liked To Live and Die in L.A., how Bill Peterson’s character died. It kind of takes you off guard. I wanted to do the same thing. This is a little bit later in the movie than Bill Peterson’s character, but it highlights the risk to people’s lives. It focuses on the mortality question and theme, which I think is really interesting.

As mentioned before, Tom's death is the consequence of his cold blooded murder of South American farmers trying to claim some of the money stolen in Triple Frontier as their own. If it wasn't for that particular incident, Ben Affleck's character wouldn't have been hunted down by one of the farmer's sons, and he would have lived happily ever after. Or as happily as he could have with $5 million. But who was originally supposed to die?

While J.C. Chandor isn't divulging which Triple Frontier character was originally on the chopping block, the smart money would be on either Garrett Hedlund's Ben or Charlie Hunnam's William originally taking the big dirt nap. With one being shot during the actual robbery, and the other going out of their way to protect their brother, the process of elimination helps narrow it down to those two characters. And comparatively, they could be considered characters secondary to Affleck's Tom or Oscar Isaac's Santiago.

This only makes the effect of this big rewrite all the more impressive. The finished film doesn't feel like it has just two “star” team members and three “secondary” characters. Rather, the entire team of Triple Frontier is important in their own individual ways. So no matter died, it would have stung. But the fact that it was Ben Affleck is even more shocking, as it violates the conventional wisdom that a star of his stature always makes it to the end. A decision to which we, as movie fans, must say bravo.

Triple Frontier is currently available on Netflix, and being shown in limited theatrical release.

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The Important Hulk Story That Almost Showed Up In Avengers: Infinity War

The Important Hulk Story That Almost Showed Up In Avengers: Infinity War

Warning: SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame are ahead!

After getting a beating from Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, not only did Hulk not emerge for the rest of that movie, that ended up being the last time we saw the Green Goliath in this brutish form. During Avengers: Endgame, sometime in the five years after The Decimation occurred, Bruce Banner merged his intellect with Hulk’s brawn, resulting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the Professor Hulk personality.

However, it turns out we could have seen a more intelligent Hulk earlier in the MCU, as Stephen McFeely, who co-wrote both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame with Christopher Markus, revealed:

We originally had Smart Hulk in Infinity War.

You’ll recall that in Avengers: Infinity War, Bruce Banner tried several times to get the Hulk to come out, but his monstrous other half refused, requiring Bruce to don the Hulkbuster armor when Thanos’ forces invaded Wakanda. While some speculated that Hulk was scared to jump back into battle after being pummeled by Thanos, directors Joe and Anthony Russo explained that Hulk had actually “had enough of saving Banner's ass.”

Either way, as Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus explained to Fandango, originally the plan in Avengers: Infinity War was for Bruce Banner to fix his “communication problems” with Hulk and transform into Smart Hulk just in time for the final conflict in Wakanda. However, it was decided late in the creative process that this shift didn’t feel tonally right, so it was scrapped and saved for Avengers: Endgame.

Which brings us to the above moment that was shown in the first Avengers: Infinity War trailer, where Hulk is charging into battle alongside his allies. Obviously that moment never occurred in the movie, but rather than simply being filmed to fool audiences, this was originally intended to be an actual scene, only rather than getting more of normal, angry Hulk, that’s a Hulk with significantly improved intelligence who’s getting ready to kick some ass.

This makes for a cool ‘what could have been’ scenario (another if Hulk had been dusted), but within the actual MCU timeline, it took a little longer for Bruce Banner to finally achieve a balance with The Hulk. When he finally stopped looking at Hulk as a problem and instead as a solution, Bruce brought the best of both worlds together through gamma radiation, allowing him to finally achieve a sense of peace and the world to see Hulk as a proper superhero.

The emergence of Professor Hulk marked the conclusion of the special Hulk “trilogy” that began in Thor: Ragnarok. There’s no word yet on if we’ll be seeing more of Hulk going into the MCU’s Phase 4 and beyond, but Mark Ruffalo has at least one movie left on his contract, so perhaps Marvel Studios will give fans another taste of this more reasonable and dignified version of the Green Goliath in action.

Make sure you read CinemaBlend’s review of Avengers: Endgame and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the biggest updates concerning the MCU. If you’re curious about what movies the superhero franchise has coming, check out our comprehensive guide.

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