‘John Wick’  Director Chad Stahelski Opens Up About Real Guns Used In Films

John Wick has been a legend since the day the first film was released. The character, brilliantly played by Keanu Reeves, is a grizzly and violent assassin with a special love for animals. 

Chad Stahelski, the director of the films, originally started his career in Hollywood as a stuntman. He’s worked in various roles of stunt work, including a stunt coordinator, before beginning his brilliant career as a director. He’s previously worked on films like V For Vendetta, Bloodsport, and Life Free or Die Hard. 

As a director, he’s responsible for the John Wick franchise and the upcoming spinoff called Ballerina, which will see Ana de Armas in the leading role. The director opened up about his films and the infamous shooting accident that occurred on the set of Rust that claimed the life of Halyna Hutchins.

Guns…Lots of Guns

John Wick: Chapter 4 is all set to release in theatres on the 24th of March. This will be the final installment in the John Wick franchise, as the director seems to be done with any plans for a fifth installment. The franchise has made over $550 million in the course of  9 years. Now, the creator wants to give the series a little resting time.

“In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment. We’re going to give John Wick a rest. I’m sure the studio has a plan. If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we’ll take a quiet minute,” said Stahelski.

He also mentioned how Wick films happen to have a weird late release in Japan. If everyone wants another John Wick film, the director and the team, including Keanu, would likely do a promotional tour in Japan and try to come up with ideas over there.

“Wicks always, for some weird reason, always get the latest release date in Japan.” He said, “Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we’ll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, “What do you think?” We’ll have a couple of 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins.” 

Stahelski is also now a big part of multiple franchises adapted from famous games like Rainbow Six Seige and Ghost of Tsushima. He mentions how he isn’t sure how he ended up landing these titles, but they have certainly racked up. It wasn’t quite for him to be a multitasking director. The Wick series have kept him occupied, but he’ll have to get to his other projects soon.

Opinion On ‘Rust’ Accident

Stahelski has been in the stunt industry for ages. It was natural for this question to come up. In a recent interview, he responded to a question about firearm safety and the accident that landed Alec Baldwin in hot water.

“What happened on Rust … I wasn’t there, but the accidents that I’ve been around, seen, or been part of have always been human error,” he said. “So, let’s just talk about firearms. Back in the day, when it all started, they came up with blanks.”

Blanks are basically rounds that don’t contain the actual projectile. He talked about how two actors would not be put in the same frame. They had to be at least five feet apart because even blanks could be fatal.

“The concussive force coming out at the end of the barrel would be enough to shatter your skull. Accidents like that did happen and people died because of it. But in the past 10 years, they’ve come out with electronic guns”

He mentions how technology is available for everyone, and yet, people prefer using actual guns because it just happens to save them the costs of CGI and prop weapons.