John Wick director Chad Stahelski recently spoke about pitching Marvel Studios on the possibility of him taking the helm of Blade. They turned him down, but if not the Daywalker, what about the Man Without Fear?
ComicBook.com (via ActioNewz.com) asked the filmmaker if he would be interested in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series, and he explained why he no longer desires to take the helm of a massive superhero (or Star Wars) movie. "As far as Daredevil goes, it's the same thing," he said of the constrictions of well-known IPs.
"It's like, I've just been let off the leash literally for nine years, doing whatever I want. And if I want John Wick to go to f***ing space in [John Wick: Chapter 5], he'll go to f***ing space."
"The fans want us to make something that fits in what they've kind of seen before. So it's slightly nostalgic and kind of what they want, but subverted enough to be different and fresh. Like, keep saying that. You want the same, but different," Stahelski continued. "How do you keep doing that with 50 Star Wars properties? You're going to mess up. You're going to tread."
"I'm not defending either side," the filmmaker added, "it's just a tricky line when you're dealing with existing IP, especially something as massive as a 75-year-old superhero comic book, or a 40-year-old Star Wars fan base."
Stahelski's John Wick co-director David Leitch went on to helm Deadpool 2, and even took a crack at the Fast & Furious franchise with Hobbs & Shaw. However, his old partner's opinions do make sense, especially when there's a greater level of freedom with an original property like John Wick.
If he does want to take that character into outer space, he can, whereas there will always be certain restrictions with franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is set to be released in theaters on March 24, 2024, while Daredevil: Born Again is expected to arrive on Disney+ in Spring 2024.