EXCLUSIVE: Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick franchise, has acquired rights to bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger book series through his 87Eleven Entertainment production company to develop for television.
Published by St. Martin’s Griffin, a Macmillan imprint, the Joe Ledger thriller series consist of 10 novels and various offshoots. Its protagonist, Joe Ledger, is a psychologically fractured Baltimore detective secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force called the Department of Military Sciences to face off against terrorists using bleeding-edge science weapons. Along with his combat dog Ghost, his team of tier-one special operators, and the resources of the mysterious Mr. Church, Joe faces off against the threats no other team is able to stop.
“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 to turn it into a TV series.”
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Stahelski was known for his stunt work on The Matrix franchise and the original The Crow before he transitioned to directing with John Wick. He has directed all four chapters in the hit core franchise, along with producing the most recent one.
“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. “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’s 87Eleven Entertainment produced the Netflix vampire thriller film Day Shift starring Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco and Karla Souza. The company has in the works the Highlander remake for Lionsgate with Henry Cavill; Ghost of Tsushima (Sony/PlayStation) based on the action-adventure game set in feudal Japan; Rainbow Six based on the Tom Clancy novel and starring Michael B. Jordan; an adaptation of the popular Black Samurai novels (Netflix); an adaptation of Trevanian’s Shibumi (Warner Bros); and Man From Nowhere (New Line).
In TV, 87Eleven is developing the John Wick 4 sequel series Under the High Table for Lionsgate as well as Project Nemesis and the Harvath Project, both at Sony Pictures Television. Stahelski is repped by WME, attorney Tara Kole and Mortimer PR.
Maberry is a five-time Bram Stoker Award winner, four-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer and producer. His comics influenced a large chunk of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and his vampire novels were adapted into the Netflix series V-Wars. He is repped by Sara Crowe Literary, CAA and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman.