JOHN WICK Directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch Came Back To Help on THE MATRIX 4

John Wick directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch got their big start in Hollywood doing stunt work. Earlier in their career, they actually worked on creating the badass groundbreaking stunts in The Matrix films. Stahelski was also a stunt double for Keanu Reeves.

Stahelski and Leitch have since gone on to have successful directing careers, but they are going back to their roots and helping out with Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix 4! During a recent interview with Collider, Stahelski opened up about the highly anticipated sequel, saying:

“It’s definitely, from what I know of it, it’s incredibly fun. I think if you’re a fan of the original trilogy you’re gonna love this. Coming back with a vengeance.”

When talking about how they are helping out with the movie, they explain that Wachowski is directing her own action in the movie:

“It’s more about the creative concept of some of the choreography and backing them up with stuff. Other than the Matrixes, most of their stuff…what makes [Lana] so great is she directs her own action. We’ve had second unit directors on some of the Matrixes just because of the logistics involved. But of late, and especially on Matrix 4, she’s directing her own action. The second units for them are mostly establishing shots, the B-sides of the some of the compositions for some locations. But Lana, she does her own action. She weaves it into the main unit stuff, which is why their stuff looks so good.”

Stahelski also shares that coming back to the franchise is like a reunion of sorts because the film production is mostly made up from the crew of the original Matrix movies:

“They were really cool. They asked us to help out with the choreography and some of the physical training for the guys. I’m helping out a little bit for a sequence, I think Dave’s helping out for a sequence. Lana’s come back with a lot of love to have a pseudo-family reunion, so that’s been a lot of fun. It’s been good to see a lot of the crew members again. We just finished doing a sequence in San Francisco before the pandemic started.”

When previously talking about the possibility of coming back to work on The Matrix 4, Leitch said:

“If Lana called and wanted me to do anything on that movie, I would come, I’d carry a c-stand or sandbags. I loved working with her and I loved working with her sister and I feel like I owe so much of my filmmaking background to working on not only the Matrix movies, but also Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin. They were great mentors to me, so if they call I’ll be there. Catering [even]!”

Well, it’s great to see that Lana Wachowski called and asked them to come back! It sounds like it’s been a great and fun experience for them.

The movie stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, Watchmen), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter), and Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones). Priyanka Chopra is also rumored to be coming aboard the film as well.

We don’t have details on the story but I can’t wait to see what that story entails! The Matrix 4 is set to hit theaters on May 21, 2021.