In an earnings call, Lionsgate CEO John Feltheimer divulged that the company is considering a videogame based on the John Wick series. According to a report from Indiewire, Feltheimer claimed that executives have been “fielding proposals,” but that things are in the very early stages. Specifically, he said, “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 also expressed his satisfaction that the film series continued to grow with each release. The first movie, made on a budget of $20-30 million, grossed $86 million worldwide, while Chapter 2 made $171 million, and Chapter 3 brought in over $327 million. In addition to the upcoming fourth film, which is set for a Mar. 24, 2023 release, there is also a prequel TV series in the works called The Continental, as well as a spin-off flick Ballerina starring Ana de Armas.
Considering the series’ increasing popularity amidst the Keanu-aissance, as well as its penchant for stylish violence, a videogame adaptation seems like a natural fit. Games like Max Payne have drawn on similar influences, like the elegant shootouts of John Woo movies, to great effect. Woo even produced his own bullet time centric shooter, Stranglehold, back in 2007.
Additionally, there has already been an attempt at a John Wick videogame, although it was a more small-scale endeavor than what Lionsgate is seemingly planning. John Wick Hex, developed by Bithell Games of Thomas Was Alone and Subsurface Circular fame, was a strategy title that turned the Baba Yaga’s slow-motion exploits into a tactical experience where you plan each of Wick’s bone-shattering moves in advance. While movie tie-in videogames have become less common over the last few console generations, it will be interesting to see if Reeves’ iconic character will successfully make the leap into a big-budget game.