<P> John Wick is a series of action thriller films written by Derek Kolstad and directed by Chad Stahelski . The first film also included David Leitch as an uncredited director . Keanu Reeves stars as the eponymous antihero, a retired but deadly hitman seeking vengeance . </P> <P> The series began in 2014 with the release of John Wick . It was followed by the sequel John Wick: Chapter 2, which was released in 2017 . The two films were successful both critically and commercially . The first film grossed $88.8 million worldwide and holds an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the second has a rating of 89% and has grossed $171.2 million worldwide . A third film, titled John Wick: Chapter 3 is in production and is set to be released on May 17, 2019 . </P> <P> The premise for John Wick was conceived by screenwriter Derek Kolstad who began work on a treatment about a retired contract killer coming out to seek vengeance, entitled Scorn . After one month of work, he had completed the first draft of the screenplay and once he had addressed several issues he pitched the script to various clients, garnering at least three offers . When he first started thinking about writing the script, Kolstad was influenced by film - noir classics and the themes of revenge and the antihero and the occurrences of what may play out if "The worst man in existence found salvation (...) When the source of his salvation is ripped from him (...) Do the gates of Hades open?" For Kolstad, both Alistair MacLean and Stephen King were influences in the creating of the story of John Wick in terms of characterisation and world - building, stating, "(...) MacLean could build a world, and King could surprise you by what the main character truly was capable of ." </P> <P> On December 3, 2012, it was announced that Thunder Road Pictures had bought the script with discretionary funds, with Kolstad agreeing due to Thunder Road's plan to make the film straight away . When Basil Iwanyk head of Thunder Road Pictures had first read Kolstad's original screenplay, he was immediately drawn to the main character of Wick, stating, "The tone of the script was subversive and really fun ." He also admired the emotional weight and action theme of the piece . After Thunder Road had optioned the script, Kolstad spent additional months refurbishing the script with them . In the original script, the character of John Wick was written with "a man in his mid-sixties" to play the role, given the title character's fabled reputation as a revered and respected assassin . However, Iwanyk was of the belief that this was irrelevant and bent the original vision ever so slightly, stating, "Instead, we decided to look for someone who is not literally older, but who has a seasoned history in the film world ." </P>

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