Director Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves and newcomer Common (Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.) are all primed to come together for high-octane sequel John Wick 2 at some point next year, and today brings word of Ian McShane reprising his role for the anticipated follow-up.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the former Deadwood star will return as the fan-favortie boutique hotel owner Winston, who managed all the ins and outs of The Continental, a safe haven to every hitman operating in the seedy underworld of organized crime by supplying weapons, intel and the like. But the gruff, no-nonsense owner struck a chord with the film’s impassioned fanbase by enforcing the “no violence on the premises” rule – a rule that was ironically punishable by death.
On the heels of Common landing the chief villain role – said to be head of security for a female crime lord – we fully expect McShane’s character to bend the rules of Reeves’ titular ex-hitman, who returns one again as the mythical assassin in what is sure to be a riotous, action-packed sequel.
Then again, both Reeves and Stahelski are cognizant of churning out the same movie experience with a different coat of blood-red paint. As the former has mentioned before, repetition with variation is the main goal, with John Wick 2 set to reveal more about the character’s history and how he became the mythical assassin that the entire criminal world knows and fears.
Blistering action and the seedy underworld of assassin’s isn’t the only high-profile fixture on Ian McShane’s proverbial hitlist for 2016, with the English actor also set to appear in HBO’s Game of Thrones in an unnamed role (Randyll Tarly?).
John Wick 2 will slink in front of the cameras later this week.