For John Wick: Chapter 4's Chad Stahelski, overseeing a big-budget property for Marvel Studios or Lucasfilm comes with too many restraints.
Speaking to Comicbook.com about whether he was interested in working on Daredevil: Born Again, Stahelski commented on the tough balance directors face when adapting characters according to fans' demands. "The fans want us to make something that fits in what they've kind of seen before," he said. "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."
This, according to Stahelski, creates long-term problems for a franchise if it wants to keep innovating for extended periods of time. As he put it, "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, 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."
What Does Stahelski Want to Direct?
While Stahelski's directorial work primarily consists of the John Wick movies, he recently served as executive producer for the upcoming Netflix vampire film Day Shift. Meanwhile, his original John Wick co-director David Leitch (who went uncredited) has since directed a number of comic book properties like 2017's Atomic Blonde -- an adaptation of the graphic novel The Coldest City -- and 2018's Deadpool 2. Similarly, Leitch's new action film Bullet Train, while not based on any comics, was adapted from Japanese author Kōtarō Isaka's book MariaBeetle.
Daredevil: Born Again was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con as part of Marvel Phase 5, with Kevin Feige confirming that it will consist of 18 episodes rather than the traditional Disney+ 6-episode run. Prior to this announcement, Daredevil actors Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio reprised their roles as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye respectively, marking both characters' first canonical appearance since the Netflix adaptation was canceled. The two actors are also confirmed to appear in Marvel's spinoff series Echo, with Hawkeye establishing Fisk as the surrogate father of lead character Maya Lopez. Cox's other confirmed future Daredevil appearances include a cameo in She-Hulk and a voice role in Spider-Man: Freshman Year.
San Diego Comic-Con also saw the release of the first official teaser for John Wick: Chapter 4. Clips from the teaser include Keanu Reeves' Wick sitting down with members of the mysterious High Table, killing more mercenaries, and engaging in a gun-and-sword fight with Donnie Yen.
John Wick: Chapter 4 will release in theaters March 24, 2023.
Source: ComicBook.com