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Derek Kolstad (born April 4, 1974) is an American screenwriter and film producer. He is the creator of the John Wick franchise, which began in 2014. He continued to write for the first two sequels of the franchise and is mainly known as a screenwriter of action films and shows.
Derek Kolstad | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 4, 1974 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1987[dubious – discuss]–present |
| Known for | Creator of the John Wick franchise |
| Style | Action thriller films |
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Kolstad attended Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart and later studied business administration at Taylor University in Indiana. He moved to California at age 24 to pursue screenwriting. He says he started writing films when he was a teenager, but he struggled to find success in Hollywood at first.[1]
Career
The first script he sold was called Acolyte, which was purchased by Voltage Pictures in June 2012. After that, he got some writing and re-writing work, including work on One in the Chamber, starring Dolph Lundgren and Cuba Gooding Jr. He then wrote The Package, which also starred Lundgren.
Kolstad sold a script titled Scorn to Thunder Road Pictures, which signed Keanu Reeves for the lead role in April 2013. At Reeves' suggestion, the film was renamed John Wick after the title character,[2] whom Kolstad had named after his maternal grandfather.[3] The film was released in 2014 and was followed by John Wick: Chapter 2 in 2017 and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum in 2019.[4] Kolstad wrote the video game John Wick: Chronicles and was involved with the creation of a comic book series.[5] However, he was not asked by the studio to continue writing for the fourth or subsequent films.[6]
In 2017, it was reported that Kolstad would write a live-action television adaptation of the Hitman franchise as well as an action-thriller titled The Steward.[7][8][9] In 2019, it was reported that Kolstad would write and produce a live-action film adaptation of the Just Cause franchise.[10] In 2020, Netflix announced that Kolstad would be an executive producer and writer on a Splinter Cell anime series.[11] In 2021, Kolstad was hired to write the screenplay for a live-action adaptation of Hellsing for Amazon Prime Video.[12]
Kolstad wrote the screenplay for the 2021 film Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk, and two episodes of the 2021 Marvel Studios television series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Kolstad lives in Pasadena, California with his wife Sonja and twin children.[3]
Also credited as "characters created" in the John Wick franchise.
Film writer
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | One in the Chamber | William Kaufman | |
| 2013 | The Package | Jesse V. Johnson | |
| 2014 | John Wick | Chad Stahelski David Leitch |
|
| 2017 | John Wick: Chapter 2 | Chad Stahelski | |
| 2019 | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | ||
| 2021 | Nobody | Ilya Naishuller | Also executive producer |
| 2025 | Nobody 2 | Timo Tjahjanto | Post-production |
| TBA | Normal | Ben Wheatley | Filming |
Television
| Year(s) | Title | Executive producer |
Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Die Hart | No | Story | Also creator[11] |
| 2021 | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | Co-executive | Yes | Episodes: "Power Broker" and "The Whole World Is Watching"[13] |
| 2023 | The Continental: From the World of John Wick | Yes | No |
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