We've got some updates for the Continental crowd. Lionsgate is all in on the sleeper hit turned tentpole franchise John Wick, with John Wick: Chapter 3 set for May 17, 2019 and a spinoff TV series in the works at Starz. Considering the studio's enthusiasm for the Keanu Reeves-led action franchise, it should come as no surprise that the wheels are already in motion on the sequel.

Earlier today, some reports about John Wick: Chapter 3 popped up online via The Hashtag Show, who reported that director Chad Stahelski is set to return for Chapter 3. Our Editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub did some digging and confirmed the news. Stahelski, who co-directed the first film before flying solo on the sequel, will return to the world of Wick for the third film.

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Image via Lionsgate

The report states that Chapter 3 was gearing up to being principle photography in New York City on March 1st, with other locations potentially including Spain and Russia, along with the casting news that Stahelski is seeking an actress for a female role and that The Wolverine star Hiroyuki Sanada is set to join the cast the film's central antagonist, the leader of a Japanese crime syndicate. We were unable to confirm any of these reports.

When we spoke with Stahelski last year, the director said he was keen to return and had his eye on a late 2017 or early 2018 start, and with the release date on book for mid-2019, we're sure to get some more answers soon. As for what we can expect from the sequel, Stahleski said they wanted to deeper into the mythology:

“We want, not so much to go bigger on the third one, but to show you more of the intricacies of the world… I feel like there are all these different subtleties that I skipped over in Number Two, that I’d like to go back to on [chapter three] and show you the inner workings of different parts of New York. So rather than massive set pieces, I’d like to show you cooler and more intricate ones… I think it would be a mistake budget wise and creatively to just go big and blow up a freeway. That’s not our gig. That’s a comic book or a Bond gig. We want to show you cool and intricate details. What are those little details in everyday life? Hopefully – we make people look at garbage collectors and cleaner vans and homeless people a little differently now.”

Stahelski,is also set to direct the pilot for the new Wick-verse Starz series, The Continental, in which Reeves is expected to cameo. Stay tuned for more news on John Wick as we hear it and for more of our recent coverage check out the links below.

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Image via Lionsgate
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Image via Lionsgate
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Image via Lionsgate