The release of John Wick in 2014 did not only revolutionize action movies, but it was also a turning point for the movie’s director, David Leitch. For such an amazing movie, there must have been a lot of work put in off-screen, and it was all thanks to this one man.

David Leitch is coming out guns blazing

Before becoming an out and out fully-fledged film director, David Leitch had spent most of his time in Hollywood coordinating stunts and shooting supplementary footage in movies’ second units. On came the John Wick project, which along with Chad Stahelski, Leitch coordinated.

Firmly in the Spotlight

The stuntmen did such an amazing job that it propelled Keanu Reeves, the film’s star, to as much international acclaim as he received while playing Neo in The Matrix franchise.

The movie’s success also meant that the filmmakers were firmly in the spotlight, and just like that, Leitch became the main man in Hollywood whenever action movies come up.

Whilst Stahelski stuck to the John Wick path, his colleague chose to make his own. His expertise was all over Atomic Blonde, and who would disagree that the action-packed flick was off the charts?

Leitch then went on to embellish his portfolio with Deadpool 2, with the antihero comedy and action movie earning more than $785 million globally. The director was making super moves!

Leitch turned Charlize Theron into a war machine in Atomic Blonde

In the past couple of years, David Leitch has more than proved that he can deliver, even on short notice and on a tight budget. What’s more, he does this with some sort of originality that some thought had been lost on Hollywood forever, and no wonder his movies are a class apart from your regular action movies.

The Best of the Best

If you were Universal, and looking to make a spinoff of your most successful movie franchise, wouldn’t you want the best of the best working on the project? And that’s what the company did.

The Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw is already in theatres and doing well, bringing in $60.8 million domestically and $120 million overseas on its opening weekend. Given that the movie’s budget was a sum over $200 million, Universal is sure of making a huge profit is this trend continues for the next few weeks.

Officially known as Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, the movie sees Jason Statham and The Rock reprise their Deckard Shaw and Luke Hobbs characters from the original franchise respectively, and features the car chases, explosions, and fights you’re accustomed to.

However, this particular installment has a touch of comedy in it, a move that was said to be in a bid to accrue a sense of individuality from the mother franchise.

Deckard Shaw and Luke Hobbs in action

Speaking to Business Insider, the director confirmed as much, stating that although he had to remain true to the already firmly established franchise, he also had to find a way to make Hobbs & Shaw his own. He also talked about the emotions that the explosions in the franchise draw out, and he didn’t want to have that lost on his watch.

Why don’t you hit the theatres this weekend if only just to confirm that Leitch did indeed deliver? Go in with zero expectations, but bear in mind that numbers ($128 million on its first weekend) never lie!