Why Bill Skarsgård’s Boy Kills World Is Different From John Wick Explained By Director

Boy Kills World director Moritz Mohr addresses his new action movie’s comparisons to John Wick. Starring Bill Skarsgård (who also appeared as part of the cast of John Wick: Chapter 4), Boy Kills World tells the story of Boy, a deaf and mute person who trains to become a ruthless killer after the murder of his family. The film, which also stars Famke Janssen, Brett Gelman, Michelle Dockery, and Sharlto Copley, had its premiere last year at TIFF, and some have compared the action flick to John Wick.

Ahead of Boy Kills World‘s theatrical release, Mohr discusses the film with GamesRadar and the Inside Total Film podcast, explaining why his film isn’t quite like Legendary’s John Wick franchise. According to the director, it’s all about how each property features guns. Check out his full comment below:

“That’s an honor to some degree because these films are just amazing. I think we are coming from a slightly different angle there because we tried to make a martial arts movie and then we added some guns to it whereas John Wick had guns and then it sort of added some martial arts to it, even more towards the later installments of the series. So yeah, I mean, those are gorgeous-looking action movies, but top-notch action, so if people want to compare them, I’m all for it.”

Boys Kills World Isn’t The Only Recent Action Movie To Be Compared To John Wick

What These Comparisons Actually Mean & Why They’re Not Always Accurate

Upon its release in 2014, John Wick became a surprise hit, introducing Keanu Reeves’ titular assassin as he embarks on a question for vengeance following the murder of his dog. The franchise now includes four installments in total, with each a bigger success than the last. The franchise, which Chad Stahelski directs, is renowned for a particular brand of action that favors wider camera angles, fewer cuts, and highly trained actors.

Before Boy Kills World there was the well-reviewed Monkey Man, Dev Patel’s directorial debut about a man seeking revenge against India’s corrupt elites for the murder of his mother. After its premiere, social media became awash with viewers comparing the movie to John Wick. Part of this could be because it’s a revenge tale that features legible action scenes and a well-dressed hero, but the film obviously had different ambitions. In actuality, Monkey Man‘s fights have more in common with something like The Raid, which is grungier and more frantic.

John Wick may have largely popularized the art of “gun fu,” but the presentation of the action in those movies owes a great deal to Asian action cinema (including The Raid). Judging from the first trailers, which tease a quirky and darkly comedic fever dream of a film, Boy Kills World may end up sharing relatively little in common with the hit Reeves franchise beyond some surface-level similarities. Part of why these comparisons have become so common could be because John Wick is so popular that it’s just become an easy cultural touchstone and point of reference.

Source: GamesRadar

Boy Kills World

Boy Kills World is an action thriller film by director Moritz Mohr, released in 2024. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, a young man simply known as “Boy” lives through terrible trauma after his family is killed by a woman named Hilda Van Der Koy, who currently rules the land. Now older and more bloodthirsty than ever, Boy heads into the fray to claim revenge while liberating the world from her tyrannical grasp.

Director

Moritz Mohr

Release Date

April 26, 2024

Studio(s)

Nthibah Pictures , Hammerstone Studios , Ventaro Film

Distributor(s)

Capstone Global

Writers

Tyler Burton Smith , Arend Remmers , Moritz Mohr

Cast

Bill Skarsgard , Famke Janssen , Jessica Rothe , Michelle Dockery , Brett Gelman , Isaiah Mustafa , Yayan Ruhian , Nicholas Crovetti

Runtime

115 Minutes