‘John Wick’ Director Chad Stahelski To Direct Dark Fantasy Film ‘Sandman Slim’
The co-directors ofJohn Wickare moving on to big things. While David Leitch has put sleek action thrillersAtomic BlondeandDeadpool 2under his belt, action fans have wondered whatChad Stahelski’s next non-Wickmovie will be.
Stahelski’s directorial slate has been a bit up in the air afterJohn WickandJohn Wick 2, with two or three projects tentatively announced, includingJohn Wick 3. Now, Stahelski has officially been tapped to helm the Studio 8 adaptation ofSandman Slim.
Stahelski has been hired to direct the adaptation ofRichard Kadrey’s dark fantasy series for Studio 8,Deadlinereported.
Sandman Slimis a superhero vigilante story about a half-human/half
-angel magician who escapes from Hell in order to exact revenge on those who killed his girlfriend. No, it’s not a spin-off of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimedSandmanseries, which has also been itching for a feature film adaptation.
The novel will be adapted byKerry Williamson, who penned the Netflix filmWhat Happened to Monday. Kel Symons wrote a previous draft.
Here is the synopsis for the first book in Kadrey’s nine-book series:
Normally the way things go is, life sucks and then you die. But not if you are James Stark. Instead you skip the dying, are betrayed by your so-called friends, and spend the next eleven years trapped in Hell. And believe me, you don’t survive the devil’s playground without learning a few tricks. Stark is no longer the man he once was – over a decade of fighting hellion monsters changes a person. He has finally escaped and is back in L.A. seeking revenge. But the road to absolution proves longer than expected and it doesn’t take long for Stark to realize that both Heaven and Hell have their own plans for him.
Studio 8 acquired the rights toSandman Slimin 2016 with the hopes that the series could launch a potential franchise. And with Stahelski at the helm, that’s entirely possible. Alongside Leitch, Stahelski built a rich, complex world out of a simple revenge film inJohn Wick, which starred Keanu Reeves as the titular assassin who is forced out of retirement. What could have been a tired trope became one of the most exciting and kinetic films of 2014. The sequel, directed solely by Stahelski, kicked the first film’s stylized action and insanity up a notch, turning the series into a full-fledged action epic.
Stahelski is still set to directJohn Wick 3, which is scheduled for a July 17, 2025 release.
