Claim: John Wick: Chapter 2's plot follows fictional hitman John Wick.

John Wick : Chapter 2 is a 2017 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Chad Stahelski and written by Derek Kolstad . The second installment of the John Wick series , the plot follows hitman John Wick , who goes on the run after a bounty is placed on his head . It stars Keanu Reeves , Common , Laurence Fishburne , Riccardo Scamarcio , Ruby Rose , John Leguizamo and Ian McShane , and marks the first collaboration between Reeves and Fishburne since appearing together in The Matrix trilogy .   Principal photography began on October 26 , 2015 , in New York City . The film premiered in Los Angeles on January 30 , 2017 , and was theatrically released in the United States on February 10 , 2017 . It received positive reviews from critics and grossed $ 166 million worldwide , over four times its $ 40 million budget and nearly twice the $ 88 million gross of the original film .