John Wick Movie Release Coincides with Themed DLC for Payday 2 Game

The John Wick Movie is set to hit cinemas on October 24th, 2014. – John Wick is about an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. With New York City as his bullet-riddled playground, John Wick (the titular protagonist played by The Matrix’s Keanu Reeves) is a fresh and stylized take on the “assassin genre”.

Watch the revenge movie trailer for John Wick here:

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John Wick will be released theatrically in North America on October 24th, 2014; followed by a worldwide release the week after.

Summit Entertainment label announced the stylized assassin film John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves, will be digitally re-mastered into the immersive IMAX format and released in domestic IMAX theatres starting October 24.

Directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, both of whom worked with Reeves as stunt technicians on all three of The Matrix films, John Wick tells the story of a retired assassin (Reeves) who, after suffering a deadly loss, returns to the fray to hunt down the gangsters who wronged him. The film co-stars Willem Dafoe, Michael Nyqvist, Adrianne Palicki, John Leguizamo, Ian McShane and Bridget Moynahan.

John Wick, which screened last month at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, marks the first IMAX domestic roll-out for Reeves since The Day the Earth Stood Still in 2008 and the second and third Matrix films more than five years prior.

“John Wick is a fun action romp, complete with a tremendously entertaining performance by Keanu Reeves that is perfect for IMAX fans.” -Phil Groves

“We are over the moon that John Wick will play in IMAX theatres,” said Lionsgate’s President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution, Richie Fay. “This film is loaded with non-stop action and excitement, but full of heart; it really exploded out of Fantastic Fest and we cannot wait to share it with audiences around the country.”

“John Wick is a fun action romp, complete with a tremendously entertaining performance by Keanu Reeves that is perfect for IMAX fans,” said Phil Groves, Senior Vice President, IMAX Corp and Executive Vice President of Global Distribution, IMAX Entertainment. “There’s no better place for audiences to experience the film’s stylized storytelling than in IMAX theatres.”

The IMAX release of John Wick will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Continuing to build its presence in the game space, Lionsgate, a premier next generation global content leader, and Thunder Road Pictures will collaborate with Starbreeze Studios and 505 Games, two independent creators, publishers and distributors of computer and video games, on exclusive downloadable John Wick content (DLC) for the Payday 2 video game worldwide, the companies announced today. The unique package of branded game content will be released on October 22nd, two days ahead of John Wick’s October 24th launch in theatres around the world.

The exclusive content produced by OVERKILL Software – a Starbreeze Studio, based on the professional hit man from the movie, adds a playable John Wick character to the PAYDAY gang. The DLC will be released as a free update for the PAYDAY 2 game on the Steam platform two days ahead of the film’s worldwide theatrical launch to mark the PAYDAY 2 community reaching the final 1.5 million member Crimefest milestone. Beginning tomorrow, moviegoers purchasing tickets to John Wick on Fandango will receive a free download of PAYDAY 2 on Steam.

“The hyper-real action sequences in the film almost make you feel like you’re watching an insane video game, so we cannot wait to see John Wick in theaters as well as experience him in the game.” -Danielle DePalma

“We’re big fans of PAYDAY 2 and the team at Starbreeze, and we’re thrilled to kick off our partnership with such a cool movie,” said Lionsgate EVP of Digital Marketing Danielle DePalma. “The hyper-real action sequences in the film almost make you feel like you’re watching an insane video game, so we cannot wait to see John Wick in theaters as well as experience him in the game.”

“We continue working with great partners, this time with Lionsgate and their movie John Wick,” said Starbreeze Chief Executive Officer Bo Andersson Klint. “We’ve finally got a real hitman on our team. Being able to play as John Wick in PAYDAY 2 ahead of the movie’s release is a great reward for our loyal PAYDAY 2 community, which reached the final milestone of 1.5 million members in our PAYDAY 2 Steam group before our 12-day Crimefest event.”

“Lionsgate’s entry into the game space is continuing to build momentum with the addition of another great partner and a tremendous piece of IP,” said Lionsgate President of Interactive Ventures & Games Peter Levin. “We’re delighted to capitalize on this opportunity to collaborate with a world-class partner like Starbreeze whose unique action community includes millions of our target fans.”

The exclusive package of DLC includes:

• John Wick, a new playable character in PAYDAY 2.
• A new perk system called Hitman, which includes features such as Akimbo, the ability to dual wield weapons, a favorite of John Wick himself.
• A new pistol with accompanying weapon modifications and a new knife melee weapon.
• Three cool-looking sunglasses to customize and wear.

Are you excited for the John Wick movie and game DLC?