"John Wick" director Chad Stahelski might be incorporating his trademark action and tension into another franchise, as he has been tapped to helm the production of the film adaptation of the novel "Sandman Slim."
Stahelski, best known for bringing "John Wick" to life and with flying colors, just might launch the "Sandman Slim" franchise into mass popularity like what he did to the former. Though there are certain differences in theme compared to "John Wick" which featured a deadly retired hitman, starring Keanu Reeves, in a vengeance-driven plot.
This is because "Sandman Slim" is more of a dark fantasy instead of a crime and action thriller. The "Sandman Slim" novels also had a lengthy novel run consisting of nine books, which is a lot of source material for Stahelski to work on, meaning there may already be sequels in mind depending on how well the movie does in the box office.
For those unfamiliar, "Sandman Slim" was written by Richard Kadrey and was originally published in 2009. Since then, both the franchise and Kadrey have garnered much acclaim for the intense action of the inventive fantasy universe he created. It is worth noting that Kadrey is also a New York Times bestselling author, even before the novels were written.
"Sandman Slim" revolves around the life of James "Sandman Slim" Stark a fast-talking, hard-boiled, supernatural vigilante who escapes from Hell to avenge his girlfriend's murder. Stark will also be trying to hunt down the magicians who supposedly sent him to hell in order to exact revenge. This makes the premise pretty similar to "John Wick" though it definitely has more weight to it than the former.
Stark is also notably a half-human/half-angel magician himself, meaning he has what it takes to hunt down those who betrayed him.
As for Stahelski, he is quite famous even before "John Wick" because his previous career was a stunt performer for movies, though this also made him more meticulous about the action sequences of a film. It remains to be seen how he will handle the fantasy element of "Sandman Slim" though.
