John Wick walks down the street

Update: John Wick 3 starts filming in Montreal in April 2018.

John Wick: Chapter 3 has been given the working title "Alpha Cop", now that the Keanu Reeves-fronted action thriller has entered pre-production ahead of filming. The original John Wick movie was one of the most pleasant cinematic surprises of 2014 and managed to stand out from the crowd thanks to visceral action sequences, a strong visual style, and a straight-forward, yet intriguing, story. A sequel arrived last year which, unusually for Hollywood, was widely considered to have maintained the quality of the original, whilst also expanding the mythology and backstory of John Wick and his fictional mercenary world.

Unsurprisingly, plans were quickly made for a third installment. Director of the first two John Wick movies, Chad Stahelski is once again on duty behind the camera and Derek Kolstad is returning to write the script, ensuring a degree of continuity behind the scenes. Lionsgate has also set a release date for May 2019 and more recently, it was confirmed that John Wick: Chapter 2 production designer Kevin Kavanaugh is also set to return for Chapter 3.

Related: John Wick Inspired Charlize Theron To Make Atomic Blonde

Progress on the threequel is clearly continuing apace, as it has been confirmed by Omega Underground that John Wick: Chapter 3 has been given the working title of "Alpha Cop". The report also states that the movie is expected to begin filming in Spring or Summer of this year, primarily in New York City, which was the lead setting in the previous two John Wick outings.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick in John Wick Chapter 2

Movie working titles are largely used to help prevent the release of spoilers during filming, especially for the production of sequels. As such, these monikers can often have little to no relation to the movie itself. For instance, John Wick: Chapter 2 was initially referred to as "Spear" during the early stages of casting and pre-production, and there is no obvious connection between this title and the actual film.

However, working titles are seldom chosen completely at random. Marvel Studios are famous for giving their movie output codenames in production, including "Frostbite" for Captain America: The First Avenger, and "Group Hug" for The Avengers. These titles do vaguely allude to themes or scenes in their respective movies and "Alpha Cop" may well do something similar. Perhaps the most obvious connection the title has to John Wick is the local beat cop, Jimmy, who not only knows about John's bloody extra-curricular activities but seems pretty much okay with them.

Given that Stahelski has already promised fans that John Wick: Chapter 3 will explore the background of the eponymous assassin, "Alpha Cop" could be a hint that the film will delve into John's history and explore his relationship with this seemingly normal policeman. Or maybe they just picked it because it sounds cool.

MORE: 15 Action Stars We Want To See In John Wick 3

Source: Omega Underground

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