Lionsgate is putting a safety net in place as it expands two major franchises. The studio has signed a deal with John Wick director Chad Stahelski to have complete oversight on Highlander and his assassin universe as the franchises are pushed further with new projects. He was already set to reboot the fantasy franchise with Henry Cavill, but he will now have more responsibilities.
The new job for the filmmaker means he is a supervisor on anything that expands either franchise across different forms, from film to TV to anything else done with either IP. He will be working closely with Lionsgate and his own team at his studio, 87Eleven Entertainment.
Chad Stahelski Gains Control Over John Wick and Highlander Franchises
Details of the planning were revealed in the press release (via Deadline). The director and his team “have taken the lead in designing a comprehensive multi-platform content strategy for both franchises.” When working on his assassin universe, he will work closely with Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee. For the fantasy world, he will be working with Neal H. Moritz and the estate of the late Peter S. Davis.
John Wick has already seen one expansion outside of the mainline movies. Last year, the same as the Keanu Reeves-led installment, was the limited series The Continental, a prequel to Ian McShane’s Winston. Later this year, we will have Ballerina, a film starring Ana de Armas that takes place between the third and fourth film that John Wick director Chad Stahelski is an executive producer on.
Meanwhile, the Cavill-led fantasy film already had the director attached to helm the reboot. It is in a long line of other projects he will helm, like the video game adaptation Ghost of Tsushima, a samurai game from PlayStation studio Sucker Punch Productions. The two projects will be his next directed projects.
