International superstar Keanu Reeves got his first taste of bjj filming the movie John Wick.
The sequel for the action block buster titled John Wick: Chapter 2 is in post production and the team, including Keanu, discussed preparations and all that’s in store for the audience at a recent New York Comic Con 2016.
The sequel will be also starring rapper Common, Ruby Rose and Ian McShane (of “Deadwood” fame).
The movie also staged a Matrix reunion with his former costar Lawrence Fishburne.
Very quickly the discussion turned to stunts when the moderator asked what we can expect in terms of stunts. One of the producers replied:
“Just like the character we tried to choreograph the action sequences to show that John is unrelenting. Just completely driven force of nature. Both Keanu and Common and some of the stunt team worked together on Judo, Sambo, Jiu-Jitsu, Kung Fu, Tactical training… “
Learn The John Wick Throw – Stylish and Effective
Keanu Reeves added:
“We’re gonna do the same kind of thing in the sense of – what are the guiding principles? So it’s longer takes, know where you are on the space, who’s doing what, action with consequence. And then going to other levels of what the gun-Fu was, which was jiu-jitsu and Judo mixed with weapons and different styles of weapon training,” Keanu revealed.
“So we’ve been opening up,” Keanu continued, “I’ve been learning some other tools and different styles of that, and trying to develop some more techniques in terms of Judo and jiu-jitsu and bring those elements into the work. And then we have some other things that might be a little different…But it’s all organic. It’s not like all of a sudden John Wick has superpowers, it’s got to be connected to the character.”
“John Wick: Chapter 2” is slated to be released on Feb. 10, 2017 in U.S. cinemas. In case you missed it, here’s the original footage of Keanu testing on his bjj Gi powers:
