Chad Stahelski is to direct the assassin movie 'Shibumi'.
Chad Stahelski will direct the assassin movie 'Shibumi'
The 'John Wick' filmmaker had been attached as a producer for the project but has now taken control behind the camera.
The movie is being adapted from Trevanian's 1979 novel that details the struggle between the 'Mother Company' – a conspiracy of energy companies that secretly control much of the Western world – and a skilled assassin named Nicholai Hel.
The book was a favourite of Stahelski's growing up and features espionage, revenge plots and global politics.
The hero Hel grows up in Japan and becomes an expert in the art of the 'Naked/Kill', a martial discipline that features the use of ordinary items as instruments of death.
'Shibumi' is in development at Warner Bros. and will be written by 'Operation Finale' screenwriter Matthew Orton.
Stahelski will produce the film through his 87Eleven Entertainment banner with partners Alex Yong and Jason Spitz also involved as producers. The company has recently worked on the Jamie Foxx vampire film 'Day Shift', which has just been released on Netflix.
Chad recently revealed that the upcoming 'John Wick: Chapter 4' will feature plenty of mythology and ninjas as it is the longest film in the franchise so far featuring Keanu Reeves as the titular assassin.
The 53-year-old director said: "I love mythology. I love a good myth. I don't really believe – at least for the 'John Wick' movies – in a three-act structure. I believe in storytelling and leaving it.
"You know, we've always seen 'John Wick' as Odysseus. So we take the time we need to tell the story. As long as we don't fall asleep watching it, we keep it going. But I guess there is a bathroom limit."
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