John Wick Writer Not Returning To Script Next Two Films

Derek Kolstad is the man behind the scripts for the John Wick franchise, but he’s revealed he won’t be back for the next couple entries. Kolstad, who wrote the first two films in the Keanu Reeves franchise and co-wrote the third, confirmed in an interview with Collider that he wasn’t asked back for the next two.

Kolstad noted that he’s “not involved” in the next two films, saying, “No. At a certain stage of the studio will tell you, your creation is graduated, and you wish it well. I’m still close with Chad, still close with Dave, and I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see.”

He confirmed that the decision was on the studios as well, saying, “No, it wasn’t my decision. When you think of the contractually of these things, the third one I shared the credit with any number of people, they didn’t have to come back to me, and so they didn’t. And so you look at that and you could be hurt, and I would say if I was 20 years ago I would have been, but seeing what the industry is and how things go, I just believe that you bless everything and hope it all the best, and to the players involved who are doing other things elsewhere. And yeah, it’s personal, so I’m never going to talk shit about John Wick. I want this thing to survive and thrive.”

The fourth film is currently hoping to shoot this year, according to comments by Ian McShane in January, which of course it would need to do in order to hit the current May 22nd, 2022 release date. It will see Keanu Reeves and McShane return, with the belief (though not confirmed) that Laurence Fishburne will be back as well.