John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski has acquired the rights to Jonathan Maberry's Joe Ledger novels with plans to turn them into a TV series.
As reported by Deadline, Stahelski is bringing the action-thriller novels to the screen through his 87Eleven Entertainment production banner after noting the "cinematic potential" of the stories, which center around former Army Ranger and Baltimore police detective Joe Ledger, who leads a task force pursuing terrorist threats.
"I really loved reading the Joe Ledger series. It's an all-time epic action series with intrigue, suspense and such engaging characters," Stahelski said. "As I read it, I could see the immediate cinematic potential. I'm excited to be working with Jonathan [Maberry] to turn it into a TV series."
Stahelski is no stranger to the action genre, having started as a stunt performer on the 1994 film The Crow, starring Brandon Lee, and in The Matrix franchise, where he stood in as the lead stunt double for Keanu Reeves. He later directed Reeves in John Wick, which spawned three sequels and various spin-offs.
"Chad's career, both behind and in front of the camera, pretty much defines the kinds of things I love to watch. The Matrix, The Crow, John Wick – and so many others are solidly in my wheelhouse. And we're both lifelong martial artists as well as professional pop-culture geeks," Maberry said of their collaboration.
"When we sat down for the first time to discuss Joe Ledger, it was clear that he not only read the books but deeply and empathetically understood the characters. I don't think I've ever met someone in Hollywood whose mind runs along tracks this similar to my own. He's also a visionary and a hell of a lot of fun. This is what they mean when they talk about 'Hollywood magic.'"
Stahelski has several other TV shows in development alongside the newly enlisted Joe Ledger series, including, but not limited to, the highly anticipated John Wick: The High Table, which is set directly after the events of John Wick: Chapter 4 and will feature a mix of "franchise stalwarts" and "new characters."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
