"We’ve made real movement forward to making this happen": John Wick director Chad Stahelski on 'Stunt Category' Academy Award

The entertainment industry is constantly evolving alongside the world, as hinted by Chad Stahelski, the director behind the critically acclaimed John Wick franchise. After witnessing the exceptional choreography and carefully measured action sequences in John Wick: Chapter 4, one may wonder how much value the art of stunt coordination and action choreography holds.

While it currently does not stand in line with other branches in filmmaking like cinematography or sound, it may change soon enough. According to Chad Stahelski, who spoke to Variety about this topic, a 'Stunt Category' may well be on its way to the Academy Awards by next year, if things go right. If not, it will still most likely enter the Oscars within the next few years.

Speaking to Variety, Chad Stahelski said:

"We’ve been meeting with members of the Academy and actually having these conversations, and, to be honest, it’s been nothing but incredibly positive, incredibly instructional,...I think, for the first time, we’ve made real movement forward to making this happen."

He added:

"[A stunt Oscar] can happen as soon as, you know, the next Oscars, or at least the one after that. At the latest, the next three or four years."

Though this award will be a huge win for the stunt community and action filmmakers, there are certainly some challenges that will befall the Oscars. Chad Stahleski discussed this in the next part of his interview.

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Chad Stahelski talks about the challenges of a Stunt Award category at the Oscars

Compared to other fields of cinema, stunts are not something that a single department can head. The stunt coordinator, choreographer, and action coordinator, alongside many other important roles, act together to form a complete stunt scene. This is also facilitated by the cinematographer and editor, who maintain the tempo of the scenes.

So the real challenge may be defining the parameters of the award. Chad Stahelski said:

"The question is, we haven’t had the real talks about how do you even determine what to award...Like is it for best stunt? Is it best choreography? Best action sequence? Best stunt ensemble? Does the stunt coordinator get it? The guy doing the gag get it? The martial arts choreographer? The fight choreography? The stunt double?...All these are great questions that just need to be talked about by smart individuals on both sides of it, the stunt community and the Academy."

As Stahelski remarks, these might be the only challenges left to untangle before the award can formally make a debut at the Oscars. Apart from this, things look positive for John Wick-esque films in the future. Chad Stahelski added:

"Both sides have been incredibly positive. There is no one that we’ve met so far that thinks antagonistically to this like everybody on both sides wants this to happen. They want stunts at the Oscars. It’s going to happen. It’s just how do we do it as fair and as thought out as possible."

Previously, there have been debates about how stunt work deserves more recognition than it gets. Soon, it may become a reality to see action films compete with each other for bigger and bolder stunts at the Oscars.