John Wick Director Sets Remake of Indian Action Movie With Near-Perfect Rotten Tomatoes as Next Project

The director behind the John Wick franchise, Chad Stahelski, will continue to cement his action movie legacy as he is now set to produce the English-language remake of the acclaimed Indian Hindi-language action outing Kill. As per a report by Deadline, Stahelski and his production company 87Eleven Entertainment will produce the Kill remake for Lionsgate, with the John Wick director praising the original as “one of the most vivid, wild, and creative action movies” he’s seen.

You can check out Chad Stahelski’s statement below.

“’Kill’ is one of the most vivid, wild, and creative action movies I’ve seen recently. Nikhil delivers relentless action sequences that need to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. It’s exciting to be developing an English-language version — we have big shoes to fill and I’m looking forward to working with Nikhil, Karan, Apoorva, Guneet, and Achin to achieve that.”

Kill sounds like the perfect action movie project for Stahelski to watch over, and centers on an army commando who must fight his way through a train after a gang of knife-wielding thieves begin to terrorize passengers. Written and directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, and starring Indian actor Lakshya, you can check out the official synopsis for Kill below.

“When army commando Amrit (Lakshya) finds out his true love Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) is engaged against her will, he boards a New Delhi-bound train in a daring quest to derail the arranged marriage. But when a gang of knife-wielding thieves led by the ruthless Fani (Raghav Juyal) begin to terrorize innocent passengers on his train, Amrit takes them on himself in a death-defying kill-spree to save those around him — turning what should have been a typical commute into an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.”

Kill Stands at an Impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes

Kill (2023)

5/5

During a train trip to New Delhi, a pair of commandos face an army of invading bandits.

Director

Nikhil Nagesh Bhat

Cast

Lakshya , Raghav Juyal , Tanya Maniktala , Abhishek Chauhan , Ashish Vidyarthi , Harsh Chhaya

Runtime

105 minutes

Writers

Nikhil Nagesh Bhat , Ritesh Shah

Studio(s)

Dharma Productions , Sikhya Entertainment

Distributor(s)

Lionsgate

Expand

In a joint statement, the producers behind the original, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta for Dharma Productions, and Guneet Monga Kapoor & Achin Jain from Sikhya Entertainment, called the news a “big win for Indian cinema.”

“When we made ‘Kill’ with Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, we dreamed of global love, and seeing North American theaters chant ‘Kill! Kill! Kill!’ was like seeing that vision come alive. This announcement coming before the original film’s release is unprecedented and a big win for Indian cinema. We are truly honored.”

Related

Henry Cavill Highlander Reboot Gets Major Update From Director Chad Stahelski

Director Chad Stahelski offers a hugely exciting update regarding the long-awaited Highlander reboot.

Kill has been met with much acclaim from critics, and currently stands at 92% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. MovieWeb’s own Will Sayre says, “Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s new film Kill is a wild ride (quite literally, you’ll see) from start to finish. Watch it with your martial arts-obsessed pals, as an added bonus. You’ll shriek, wince, laugh, cry, and more — all the ingredients of a successful big-screen effort,” while Nate Richard of Collider declared that “Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s aggressively violent action flick is destined to become a cult classic.”

After debuting during the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival back in September last year, the original Kill is due to hit theaters in India on July 5, 2024. Alongside the remake, the original has now been picked up by Lionsgate for release in North America and the United Kingdom, which marks the first time a Hollywood studio has acquired a Hindi-language movie for release in the United States.