Sci-Fi John Wick in the Making: Scott Rogers’ Directorial Debut

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Stunt coordinator Scott Rogers, known for collaborating with action movie director Chad Stahelski for many years, has gained valuable knowledge about directing from one of today’s top action filmmakers. Recently, he worked closely with Stahelski, organizing stunts for the highest-rated John Wick film, John Wick: Chapter 4. Rogers is now preparing to make his directorial debut, adapting William R. Forstchen’s science fiction novel One Second After onto the big screen. This story imagines what America might look like immediately after an EMP blast that destroys the nation’s power grid.

The movie is expected to excel due to its robust narrative foundation and is likely to offer impressive action sequences as well. Roger’s directing skills are noteworthy, especially considering his ties with Stahelski and similar career progression in filmmaking. This emerging talent pipeline of stunt coordinators turning into directors could prove to be a lucrative and profitable resource for studios if the movie performs well at the box office. Viewers can anticipate an outstanding tale told by a promising, skillfully mentored director whose pitch for the movie might have been something like “Sci-Fi meets John Wick.

Is Scott Rogers A Chad Stahelski Clone?

One notable credit in Chad Stahelski’s resume is his role as Keanu Reeves’ stunt double on the film The Matrix. Similarly, Scott Rogers contributed to another installment of the Matrix series, The Matrix Resurrections, serving as its stunt coordinator. Additionally, Rogers has orchestrated stunts for movies such as Uncharted, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn.

Despite frequently collaborating on films like the “John Wick” series and Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy, these two directors maintain unique approaches to filmmaking. Chad Stahelski is known for emphasizing intricate hand-to-hand combat scenes, whereas Joe Rogers excels in crafting large-scale set pieces. In an interview with Vulture Magazine back in 2021, Stahelski shared this distinction.

In olden times, action sequences featuring fights took a backseat compared to car pursuits, horse races, helicopter flights, or motorboat rides.

He further mentioned that prior to the creation of ‘The Matrix’, a film he acknowledges as a source of inspiration for his ‘John Wick’ series, combat scenes were mainly focused on Arnold Schwarzenegger delivering punishing blows using only his fists.

Interestingly enough, while Stahelski continued to revolutionize fight scenes in cinema, Rogers played a crucial role in creating those thrilling car and horse chases, particularly the iconic horse chase from John Wick 3. In an interview with Below The Line News, Rogers revealed that he doesn’t handle fight sequences in the John Wick universe, instead leaving that to Stahelski. However, it’s worth noting that Rogers has the ability to excel in both fight scenes and vehicle chases, as well as large-scale destructive events like those seen in One Second After.

What Would Sci Fi John Wick Look Like?

During the same interview, Rogers acknowledged the preparatory techniques he learned from Stahelski that help bring realistic stunts to life. He explained that these methods make filming days more productive because they minimize the need for Keanu Reeves, who is getting older, to perform extensive takes of complicated fight sequences. It remains to be seen how Rogers’ preference for practical effects will translate to a large-scale national blackout scenario, but it’s sure to be intriguing. Audiences can expect Rogers to prioritize in-camera action and special effects when it comes to filmmaking. Discussing the audience’s appetite for practical effects, Rogers stated:

In an interview, Rogers discussed how he learned techniques from Stahelski that make stunts more realistic on set. This preparation helps reduce the number of long takes for Keanu Reeves in complex fight scenes, as he gets older. It’s unclear how these practical effects will be used in a large-scale blackout event, but it should be interesting to see. Audiences can anticipate Rogers focusing on real-life action and special effects. Speaking about the public’s preference for practical effects, Rogers said:

They don’t want to look at something and say, ‘Was that real?’ They want to know that it was there.

Although the novel One Second After is set in the science fiction genre, viewers should anticipate an abundance of enchanting scenes filmed by cameras and minimal use of high-tech elements and visual effects since the story takes place in a world without electricity.

In “One Second After,” we follow the disintegration of a post-EMP society as seen through the perspective of John Matherson (not to be confused with John Wick). This book has been referenced in a Congressional hearing because of its realistic potential, based on actual events. It’s more about post-apocalyptic suspense than continuous action, but director Scott Rogers is expected to add plenty of action scenes to the movie adaptation, showcasing his unique approach to stunts in cinematic form. The style of Rogers’ debut film might resemble something similar to Will Smith’s “I Am Legend” combined with the 2009 movie “The Road,” which was inspired by Cormac McCarthy’s novel.

Are Stunt Performers An Untapped Filmmaker Pool?

In Hollywood today, directors who started as stunt performers aren’t considered overly specialized anymore. For instance, the popular Netflix series Extraction, headlined by Chris Hemsworth, is directed by former stuntman Sam Hargrave and is praised for its spectacular stunts and extended action scenes. Hal Needham, once the highest-paid stuntman in the world according to IMDB, moved on to direct films like Smokey and The Bandit (1977) and Hooper (1978). David Leitch, who co-directed the first John Wick with Chad Stahelski, later took the helm for Deadpool 2, Bullet Train, and The Fall Guy, a movie centered around stunt performers.

Although it’s not unusual for stuntmen to become directors, the relatively small group of successful ones suggests a promising path for newcomers like Scott Rogers. With “One Second After,” Rogers is poised to join their ranks. His character, John Matherson, might not be another John Wick, but he has the potential to be just as remarkable.

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2025-05-04 22:36