John Wick director Chad Stahelski may be best known for his assassin actioners and epic fight scenes, but he's got his sights set on something a little more sci-fi: Star Wars.
"I'm a Star Wars guy," Stahelski told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "The first Star Wars changed my life path. Maybe someday out there, Disney if you're listening, hit me in a couple of years. I have a couple of takes for Star Wars. I'd take a swing at that, see if Disney could survive me."
There's no shortage of big-name directors putting their spin on the galaxy far, far away in the near future, so Stahelski would be joining a fairly long queue – James Mangold, Taika Waititi, and Sharmeen-Obaid Chinoy all have Star Wars movies in the works, as does Lucasfilm's new chief creative officer Dave Filoni.
Joining a pre-existing franchise would mean the stunt coordinator-turned-filmmaker would have to give up some of the freedom he's come to enjoy helming the Keanu Reeves-fronted action series, though. "I've been asked a lot about, 'Why do you do John Wicks? Don't you want to try something else?'" Stahelski added.
"Yes, of course I do, but given the choice I've had and the parameters that were presented to me, as far as those opportunities went, I felt like I could do more and bring something more, and do more of what I want, and do the fights and the anime and the action more my way by doing [John Wick]. Why work within somebody else's parameters of what I feel to be a duel or mythology when I can create?"
Next up in the John Wick universe is Ballerina, a spin-off starring Ana de Armas as a ballerina-assassin, which Stahelski is producing and is set to the big screen on June 7, 2024. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best upcoming movies on the way, this year and beyond.
