Latest news with #ChadStahelski


Perth Now
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
John Wick director Chad Stahelski to produce movie adaptation of controversial comic Calexit
Chad Stahelski is to produce a movie adaptation of the comic Calexit. The 56-year-old director - who helms the John Wick series - is attached to produce a film version of publisher Black Mask Studios' controversial 2017 comic, which details a fictionalised Californian resistance. Calexit - which was written by Matt Pizzolo - is set in a near-future America where the president has signed an executive order to deport all immigrants. In response, California declares itself a sanctuary state and sparks a fierce struggle against an autocratic regime. Amid the chaos, the story follows Jamil, a courier and smuggler navigating war-torn zones, and Zora, a rising leader of the Mulholland Resistance, as they fight to escape Occupied Los Angeles - a city locked under martial law. Calexit proved popular upon its release in 2017, going through seven printings and launching the spin-off comics Calexit: All Systems San Diego, Calexit: Our Last Night in America and Calexit: The Battle of Universal City. Pizzolo - Black Mask's co-founder and president - has written the movie's script, and is also set to produce. The writer will be producing Calexit alongside Stahelski and his 87Eleven Entertainment cohorts Alex Young and Jason Spitz, while Brett Gurewitz and Brian Giberson of Black Mask also serve as producers. Stahelski is currently working on his Highlander reboot for Amazon MGM Studios, which will star Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod - who was previously portrayed by Christopher Lambert in the original fantasy series. The Ballerina producer previously revealed he managed to convince the Man of Steel star to sign on to Highlander by pitching the project as a martial arts-focused flick that centred around an intense character arc for the Scottish swordsman. Speaking with The Direct, Stahelski said: 'My selling point was, to [Cavill], look, you've got a guy that's been alive for over 500 years. He's the last person in the world that wanted to be in this situation. 'So you get to cover quite a broad spread of a character arc there. And you get to experience someone that's trained over 500 years and sort of played [with many types of] martial arts.' The filmmaker added his Highlander movie would be set 'beyond present-day New York and Hong Kong', teasing that it's 'a bit of a love story, but not how you think'. He explained: 'We're bringing it forward from the early 1500s in the highlands to the beyond present-day New York and Hong Kong, and seeing how it goes. 'There's big opportunity for action. There's a chance to play a character that not a lot of people get to play. And it's a bit of a love story, but not how you think. On John Wick, I learned a lot on how to bend the storytelling a little ... another kind of myth.' The Highlander reboot will also star Russell Crowe as Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez - previously played by Sir Sean Connery - and Industry breakout actress Marisa Abela in a new, unnamed role. After Abela was announced as the newest cast member for Highlander, she said it was a 'real honour to step into such a legacy', and emphasised she was 'looking forward to working with Henry and Russell on something this iconic'.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watch: Chad Stahleski directs Evanescence's 'Ballerina' song music video
July 7 (UPI) -- Evanescence has released a new video for "Fight Like a Girl," their song from the movie From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. The film is now available on digital video-on-demand. Chad Stahelski directs the video for the band. Stahelski was a producer on Ballerina and directed all four John Wick movies starring Keanu Reeves. In the video, Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee and guest singer walk down an empty street singing the lyrics. The full band plays behind flames. A previous version of the video featured more clips from the movie than original footage of the band. Lee also sang "Hand That Feeds" with Halsey for the film. Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a novice assassin trained in the Ruska Roma school. She encounters John Wick (Reeves) in her pursuit of revenge against the cult leader (Gabriel Byrne) who killed her parents. Speaking with UPI, de Armas said the stunt team designed the film's fight scenes around the skills she developed during training. UPI praised the action in its review, particularly a flamethrower battle. The film opened in theaters June 6. DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD dates have not been announced.


UPI
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Watch: Chad Stahleski directs Evanescence's 'Ballerina' song music video
1 of 5 | Chad Stahelski, seen at the 2023 premiere of "John Wick: Chapter 4," directed the Evanescence video for "Fight Like a Girl" from the spinoff "Ballerina." File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo July 7 (UPI) -- Evanescence has released a new video for "Fight Like a Girl," their song from the movie From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. The film is now available on digital video-on-demand. Chad Stahelski directs the video for the band. Stahelski was a producer on Ballerina and directed all four John Wick movies starring Keanu Reeves. In the video, Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee and guest singer walk down an empty street singing the lyrics. The full band plays behind flames. A previous version of the video featured more clips from the movie than original footage of the band. Lee also sang "Hand That Feeds" with Halsey for the film. Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a novice assassin trained in the Ruska Roma school. She encounters John Wick (Reeves) in her pursuit of revenge against the cult leader (Gabriel Byrne) who killed her parents. Speaking with UPI, de Armas said the stunt team designed the film's fight scenes around the skills she developed during training. UPI praised the action in its review, particularly a flamethrower battle. The film opened in theaters June 6. DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD dates have not been announced. Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves attend 'Ballerina' premiere Cast member Ana de Armas attends the premiere of "Ballerina" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on June 3, 2025. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo


Gizmodo
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘Lazarus' Is a Briefly Gorgeous Anime That Vibes Hard But Can't Outpace Its Own Silence
When Adult Swim first announced that it was working with director Shinichirō Watanabe, Jujutsu Kaisen studio Mappa, and John Wick director Chad Stahelski on a new anime project, Lazarus already had the cards stacked against it. In the rollout of its stylish and musical trailers, the anime hewed close to Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop aesthetics, setting it up to live up to a standard from a bygone era of animation that it would never be able to satisfy audiences with, and never tried to. Set in 2052, Lazarus imagines a near future world lulled into euphoric peace by Hapna—a wonder drug that erases all physical and emotional pain. But three years after its global adoption, its elusive creator, Dr. Skinner, resurfaces with a grim truth: the miracle cure will become lethal within 30 days unless he is found. With the countdown to extinction ticking, a ragtag team of outlaws is assembled under the Lazarus task force to track him down and save humanity from self-inflicted doom. Despite its setup as a globe-trotting mystery fueled by red herrings and dramatic intrigue, Lazarus quickly settles into a rhythm that feels more like watching pins drop on a GPS than experiencing a suspenseful manhunt. After the premiere, plot twists arrive with uncanny timing but land without weight, and emotional payoffs barely register. Efforts to deepen the ensemble fall flat—most characters remain tethered to their archetypes, with only fleeting early-episode monologues offering glimpses of humanity before the urgency of the endgame takes over. By its final stretch, the anime veers from meditative to messy. A last-ditch assassin showdown featuring its free-running lead, Axel Gilberto (a clear nod to the Spike Spiegel archetype), tries to spark momentum, but its climax lands more frantic than fulfilling. Key revelations arrive not through its protagonists, but via side characters delivering exposition that sidelines the main cast, leaving them adrift in their own narrative. Lazarus isn't without its flashes of brilliance. When it slows down (which it often does), detaching from the mission's ticking clock, the series finds a comfy rhythm set to lo-fi beats and paired with lush animation that lets characters breathe. Whether drifting across the ocean or crashing influencer raves as the world quietly crumbles, these reflective interludes elevate the vibe. And when action kicks in, it's a visual feast tricked out in fluidity and weight and choreographed with precision, reminding viewers what Watanabe and Mappa can still do when the mood and momentum align. Watanabe's towering legacy casts a long shadow—and for Lazarus, that proved more of a burden than a blessing. It was never built to be another Cowboy Bebop, yet Adult Swim's nostalgia-heavy marketing framed it as such, fueling expectations the show never intended to meet. Instead of pushing boundaries, Lazarus finds itself caught in the machinery of modern anime production—forced to swap introspection for momentum and nuance for scope—ultimately hoisting itself by the weight of comparisons it didn't ask for. Watanabe told io9 that comparisons to Bebop were never his intent. His original pitch was closer in spirit to Space Dandy. But when Adult Swim requested a more serious tone, that evolution led to Lazarus. From there, the deck was stacked. Each week, it became harder to ignore how the weight of Bebop-sized expectations left little room for the show to stand on its own merits. Pacing issues aside, for fans who only see Watanabe through the lens of Bebop, Lazarus was never going to satisfy. One of the most significant strikes against it was simply structural: it's a modern anime confined to just 13 episodes, worlds away from the breathing room Cowboy Bebop had across its 26-episode run. In today's landscape, original anime rarely get the luxury of extended runtimes—unless they're backed by a hefty source material that justifies a two-cour rollout. That doesn't excuse Lazarus' clunky finale, but it does help explain how it ended up rushing to the finish line the way it did. The comparison was unfair from the start. There's still something undeniably admirable in Lazarus. Like André 3000 trading rap verses for flute solos, Watanabe isn't chasing the ghost of Cowboy Bebop here. Yes, the show carries echoes of his signature style—jazzy undertones, tight choreography, a cool cast—but this time, he's riffing in a different register. Lazarus doesn't aim for spacefaring spectacle; it leans into post-covid introspection, using stillness where others sprint. If nothing else, it plays like a love letter to a lost era of anime—much like Netflix's Pluto—when creators with decades in the game could still imprint singular, prescient, inimitable vibes. Filtered through MAPPA's modern polish, it's less a revival than a requiem. Maybe Lazarus plays more like the B-sides of Watanabe's discography—echoing the rhythms of Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy without pushing into new territory. It doesn't stand shoulder to shoulder with those genre-defining hits but settles instead into the quieter company of Carole & Tuesday and Terror in Resonance—less a reinvention, more a reflective coda. While its legacy may align more with Watanabe's quieter works, Lazarus is far from disposable. It's a brief but intentional canvas—one where a storied creator pauses to reflect amid an industry sprinting toward spectacle. In an era obsessed with instant payoffs, it dares to linger in mood and meaning, wrapping wellness paranoia in slick choreography and a soundtrack that hits harder than the plot ever endeavors to. Lazarus is streaming on HBO Max. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.


Forbes
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina' New On Streaming This Week, Report Says
Keanu Reeves Ana de Armas' character posters for "From the World of John Wick: Ballerina." Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves' From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is reportedly coming to digital streaming this week. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina opened in theaters on June 6. The official logline for the film reads, 'Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the film follows Eve Macarro (Armas) who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.' Directed by Len Wiseman and produced by John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski, From the World Of John Wick: Ballerina also stars Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus and the late Lance Reddick. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is expected to make its debut on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Tuesday, July 1, according to When to Stream. While When to Stream is typically accurate with its PVOD reports, the streaming tracker noted that the film's studio, Lionsgate, has not announced or confirmed the release date and it is subject to change. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina will be available for purchase or rent on a variety of digital platforms, including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube. The film's digital purchase price is $24.99 and since PVOD rentals tend to list for $5 less than purchase prices, From the World Of John Wick: Ballerina should be available to rent for 48 hours for $19.99. 'From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina' Marks Third Film Ana De Armas And Keanu Reeves Starred In Together From the World of John Wick: Ballerina was a reunion film for Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves after the two paired on director Eli Roth's 2015 psychological thriller Knock Knock and reteamed a year later for the mystery crime thriller Exposed. Discussing From the World of John Wick: Ballerina with Moviefone, de Armas was thrilled not only to work with Reeves again but on a film in the John Wick franchise, to boot. 'Ten years after we met, we're here working together again,' de Armas told Moviefone. 'John Wick and the franchise is what it is because of him and what he's done. I have so much respect for him as an actor and the work they've done with the movies. 'Just to have him on set on my film now supporting me [and giving] his blessing to this extension of the franchise, it was a dream come true,' de Armas added. '[To] have him walking, wearing the John Wick suit again and in such a cool scene between the two characters, was just amazing.' From the World of John Wick: Ballerina to date has earned $53.9 million in North American theaters and $53.4 million internationally for a worldwide box office gross of $107 million. The film had a $90 million budget before prints and advertising, per The Numbers. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina earned a 76% 'fresh' rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 278 reviews, while the film earned a 93% 'fresh' score on RT's Popcornmeter based on 5,000-plus verified user ratings. Rated R, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is expected to arrive on PVOD on Tuesday.