Full Breakdown
Screenwriter J.R. Wicker Sues John Wick Creators Over Alleged Copyright Infringement
6/3/2026, 8:31:03 PM
Alleged Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
On Monday, screenwriter J.R. Wicker filed a complaint alleging that *John Wick* (2014) and its sequel *John Wick: Chapter 2* use material from his screenplay *Blood for Escobar*. Wicker, writer of *Sick People* and *The Sick*, seeks $10 million in profits. Complaint names Thunder Road Films, Derek Kolstad, and Lionsgate as defendants and says Kolstad accessed script via Abstract Entertainment founder Mike Goldberg, a contest judge, and possibly UTA agent Charlie Ferraro.
Key Parties and Their Roles
The plaintiff is J.R. Wicker. The defendants are Derek Kolstad, Thunder Road Films, and distributor Lionsgate. The complaint also references Mike Goldberg of Abstract Entertainment and UTA agent Charlie Ferraro as alleged conduits.
Alleged Narrative Overlap
Wicker’s complaint alleges the two works share “strikingly and substantially similar” plot points: a home invasion that kills the protagonist’s pet, a hidden weapons cache, a nightclub shootout, a secret assassin organization (named “the Company” in *Blood for Escobar*), a Ford Mustang, a hired killer who aids the hero, and an antagonist killed in a setting after guards are down.
Legal Context and Precedent
The suit arrives appellate courts are willing to let copyright claims proceed, overturning dismissals. U.S. law protects expression, not ideas such as a pet-killing incident or a secret assassin guild. Juries rejected claims in *Servant* and Disney’s *Moana*. Wicker notes statute of limitations may matter.
Official Responses
Lionsgate declined comment. Thunder Road Films and Derek Kolstad also did not comment. Attorneys R. Terry Parker and Steven Lowe allege that Kolstad copied Wicker’s screenplay without authorization.
Criticism and Opposition
Legal analysts note that infringement requires substantial similarity in protected expression, a high evidentiary bar. The overlaps may reflect common action-genre conventions, and no proof shows Kolstad received the script.
Conflicting Reports and Evidentiary Gaps
The complaint cites Goldberg and Ferraro, yet no verification of script transfer exists; contest organizers and defendants have not confirmed the pathway, leaving copying unsubstantiated.
Verbatim Quotes
- “In both works, the antagonist gets away and is finished by a bullet later at a different location, a location where guards are down, a public location, at night, drinking,” — lawsuit
- “Kolstad “intentionally, blatantly, and without authorization, copied” Wicker’s screenplay, write R.” — attorneys Parker & Lowe
- “Copyright law doesn’t protect general ideas or tropes considered standard in the treatment of particular topics (think a priest in a movie about possession) — only the particular expression of those ideas.” — filing
- “Rosenthal is characterized as a “highly-trained martial artist” who “self-medicates the grief he suffers” with whiskey and medication and drives a 1960s Mustang.” — complaint
What's Next
The case will enter discovery, allowing exchange of scripts, contest records, and communications. Depending on evidence, the dispute may settle or go to trial, testing the limits of copyright protection for ideas and expression in the films.
