It’s been a while since we last heard aboutSilent Night, an action-thriller helmed by critically acclaimed directorJohn Woo. Not only is it his first movie in six years, but it’s also his first feature film for American audiences since 2003’sPaycheck. The movie starsJoel Kinnaman(For All Mankind) as a father who sets out to avenge his son’s death. And, of course, you mighthave heard that the movie has no dialogue, which will certainly make it stand out when it premieres.
The movie wrapped filmingalmost a year ago, which suggests it had a long post-production phase. Even though its release date is yet to be announced, we are now closer than ever to finally getting to watch what Woo and Kinnaman put together. During a press tour forJohn Wick: Chapter 4, producerErica Lee(who worked on both movies) spared a little time to talk aboutSilent Night. She confirmed to our ownEditor-in-ChiefSteve Weintraubthat the movie features zero dialogue.
“It really has no dialogue. It was another spec script that I was given and read, and I was like, “This is either going to be a genius move or a disaster, there’s no in between.” It’s execution dependent for sure. I mean, John Woo kills it. Joel Kinnaman is the star and really delivers. I mean, there’s some ambient noise and background and chatter like radio and stuff like that. But, yeah, it’s awesome. I can’t wait for you to see it.”
RELATED:Joel Kinnaman on John Woo’s ‘Silent Night’ & Making a Movie with No Dialogue [Exclusive]
While we knew about the lack of dialogue, something we didn’t know was that a lot of theJohn Wick: Chapter 4stunt team worked onSilent Night. And the reason they wanted to do it? Two words: John Woo. Lee explains, “Chad has a picture of himself and John Woo in his office. He’s a seminal action director and designer. It was fun. Actually, I was onJohn Wick 4, we were at Sacré Coeur, and I remember talking to Jeremy Marinas, who was the coordinator, I was like, “Would do you want to come do this John Woo movie with me after?” He was like, “Yeah.” That’s how it started.”
She went on to talk about the action audiences can look forward to inSilent Nightand how Kinnaman and Reeves are similar.
“It’s very operatic. It’s very John Woo-esque. I mean, we’re really lucky we’re in a partner with Joel Kinnaman, because he’s a lot like Keanu where he puts in the work. He was at 87Eleven on his off days. He was 87Eleven before he even got this part. So, it’s a lot of similar where it’s him, he’s doing the work. It’s a bit more grounded setting-wise thanWickor anything like that. It’s set in East LA. So, there’s an epic car chase. There’s this really cool stuff, I can’t tell too much.”
When Is The Trailer ForSilent NightComing Out?
Another reason we can get hyped up forSilent Nightis that thestunt teamfor the action movie also worked onJohn Wick: Chapter 4, which features some of the year’sbest action sequences. Lee also revealed that the time for us to get a first glimpse of the movie is closer than ever since she believes the first trailer will come out “by the summer.”
Silent Nightis written byRobert Archer Lynn, who pens a feature film for the first time in over 15 years. He previously wrote thriller moviesAlready DeadandPrisoner. Aside from Kinnaman, the cast also featuresCatalina Sandino Moreno(The Affair),Scott Mescudi(Don’t Look Up), andVinny O’Brien(Captain Marvel).
John Wick: Chapter 4is out now in cinemas everywhere. For more on the sequel, here’s our conversation with Reeves and directorChad Stahelski:
