'John Wick: Chapter 3' News: Production to Reportedly Begin in April; Hiroyuki Sanada to Play Japanese Villain

By Denise See, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, February 15, 2018

Production on "John Wick: Chapter 3" is rumored to begin in late April.

According to a report from Omega Underground, the third film in the "John Wick" series is set to commence filming on April 26. Previous reports claimed a March 1 start date on production. Of course, since no official confirmation of this has been made, readers are advised to take this with a grain of salt.

Filming will reportedly take place in New York and Montreal, with Russia and Spain serving as potential locations as well. Star Keanu Reeves, who portrays the titular assassin, has expressed a desire to shoot in Tokyo and Jerusalem, though it remains to be seen whether that will materialize.

As for the cast of the third film, Reeves is expected to be joined by returning stars Laurence Fishburne, Common, and Ruby Rose. The sequel is also going to introduce a new villain, and, according to TheHashtagShow, he will be played by Hiroyuki Sanada. So far, this casting has yet to be confirmed, but Sanada is reportedly going to portray the leader of a Japanese crime organization.

Should the report be true, this will not be Reeves' and Sanada's first film together. They previously appeared together in 2013's "47 Ronin." Sanada's other works include "The Wolverine" and the upcoming "Avengers 4."

Chad Stahelski is set to return to the director's chair for the third film after directing the second one. He also helmed the first "John Wick" feature with co-director David Leitch. While speaking to Collider last year, Stahelski teased what fans can expect from the sequel.

"We want not so much to go bigger on the third one but [instead] to show you more of the intricacies of the world... I feel like there's all these different subtleties that I skipped over in number two that I'd like to go back to in number three and show you the inner workings of different parts of New York," he said. "Rather than massive set pieces, I'd like to show you cooler, more intricate ones."

"John Wick: Chapter 3" is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters on May 17, 2019.