The CEO of Lionsgate has hinted that a AAA game based on the hugely popularJohn Wickfranchise is being considered. AlthoughJohn Wickhas featured in a number of games before, this could be the first time Keanu Reeves’s titular character comes to the gaming world in his own AAA title.
Directors Chad Stahelshi and David Letich introducedJohn Wickto the big screen in 2014. Taking influence from the classic lone gun slinger trope, popularized bySergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, and action beats from anime and martial arts films, the duo created a visually stunning neo-noir action thriller.John Wick’sfirst outing was universally praised, commercially successful, and spawned two sequels, 2017’sJohn Wick: Chapter 2and 2019’sJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. The franchises' success is set to continue with an upcoming fourth chapter, which is due to release March 2023, and a fifth installment also in development. The success of theJohn Wickfranchise has seen theJohn Wickcharacter appear as a legendary outfit inFortniteas well as a playable heister inPayday 2as part of a cross promotion deal with Lionsgate to promote the firstJohn Wickfilm.
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During an earnings call with investors, Jon Feltheimer, CEO of Lionsgate Studios, said that Lionsgate executives have been fielding proposals for the development of a big, AAA game featuringthe suavely dressedJohn Wick. As the project seems to be in its early stages, Feltheimer kept the details scarce saying, “I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but we believe there is a big AAA game to be made out of ‘John Wick.’ We have been fielding proposals. We certainly are interested in moving that forward, but I don’t want to say anything more about that at this time.”
Feltheimer went on to discuss thepotential for more futureJohn Wickpropertiesand praised theJohn Wickfilmmakers for keeping the franchise lucrative, successful, alive, and important with the first three movies grossing well over $500 million combined. Although a dedicatedJohn Wickgame already exists in Mike Bithell’s independent John Wick Hex, this entry delivers a small scale strategy game, opposed to the big budget AAA official licensed title that could soon be on offer.
The high octane gun play and expertly choreographed fight scenes thatJohn Wickhas become renowned for seem like a perfect fit for a huge action game, and this is a project that fans have been eagerly waiting for. With a deep assassin lore to delve into, an AAA entry could provide a compelling narrative that would elevateJohn Wickabove that of just another action focused shooter.Having Keanu Reeves play the role, both physically and vocally, as inCyberpunk 2077, would also bring a huge amount of fans and popularity to the franchise.
