{"id":1060,"date":"2026-06-02T21:40:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1060"},"modified":"2026-06-02T21:40:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:40:53","slug":"john-wick-sparks-idea-theft-lawsuit-against-lionsgate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1060","title":{"rendered":"\u2018John Wick\u2019 Sparks Idea Theft Lawsuit Against Lionsgate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tA screenwriter has sued the production company and scribe behind John Wick<\/em> for copyright infringement, accusing them of ripping off his script to make the hit revenge thriller.<\/p>\n

Read more Versant Invests In Microdrama Streaming App GammaTime<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn a lawsuit filed on Monday in California federal court, the writer, J.R. Wicker, alleges John Wick<\/em> and its sequel bear \u201cstrikingly and substantially similar\u201d elements to his screenplay \u201cBlood for Escobar.\u201d Both works follow a widowed, middle-aged ex-assassin who\u2019s reluctantly dragged back into the criminal underworld and goes on an unstoppable killing spree while battling an international secret society of hit men.<\/p>\n

\n\tWicker seeks profits from the movies of at least $10 million. He names John Wick<\/em> producer Thunder Road Films, scribe Derek Kolstad and distributor Lionsgate, which declined to comment, in the complaint.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lawsuit points to several alleged similarities between \u201cBlood for Escobar\u201d and Kolstad\u2019s \u201cScorn,\u201d the spec script that became John Wick<\/em>. Like the film, Wicker\u2019s screenplay starts with the home invasion of the protagonist, Alex, in which his pet is killed. After, he recovers a hidden cache of weapons in his house, setting up a pulsating action sequence at a night club where he confronts the antagonist.<\/p>\n

\n\tBoth works also feature a network of assassins operated by a ritualistic and bureaucratic organization. An important distinction: In \u201cBlood for Escobar,\u201d the organization, called the Company, arranges the Kevorkian killings of clients who want their families to receive life insurance payouts.<\/p>\n

\n\tKolstad \u201cintentionally, blatantly, and without authorization, copied\u201d Wicker\u2019s screenplay, write R. Terry Parker and Steven Lowe, lawyers for the scribe, in the complaint.<\/p>\n

\n\tOther similarities: a treasured, silver-screen era Ford Mustang; a supporting character who\u2019s commissioned to kill the protagonist but later helps him; and the organization of assassins turning on the central character, who\u2019s exiled after refusing to follow orders.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cIn 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,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the complaint, Wicker alleges that Kolstad reviewed a copy of his screenplay through Abstract Entertainment founder Mike Goldberg, who was a judge in a screenwriting contest in which \u201cBlood for Escobar\u201d was submitted. Kolstad has credited Goldberg for launching his career, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tWicker, writer for low-budget films Sick People<\/em> and The Sick<\/em>, also claims that Kolstad may have gotten a copy of his screenplay through UTA agent Charlie Ferraro, architect of the deal that launched the John Wick<\/em> franchise. He alleges he sent the agency requested copies of his scripts, including \u201cBlood for Escobar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe filing of the lawsuit comes amid a shift in the vetting of copyright lawsuits that\u2019s encouraged creators to sue. In recent years, federal appeals courts have cautioned lower courts against early dismissal and from imposing their views on whether two works are similar enough to warrant allowing lawsuits to proceed. There have been at least three orders since 2020 overturning defense-friendly decisions in copyright cases.<\/p>\n

\n\tStill, the standard to convince a jury that any alleged similarities between two works constitute copyright infringement remain high. Copyright law doesn\u2019t protect general ideas or tropes considered standard in the treatment of particular topics (think a priest in a movie about possession) \u2014 only the particular expression of those ideas. Last year, juries in idea theft cases over M. Night Shyamalan\u2019s Servant<\/em> and Moana<\/em> rejected copyright infringement claims.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother obstacle could be the statute of limitations to bring copyright infringement claims, though Wicker says he only saw John Wick <\/em>last year. <\/p>\n

Read more Will Taylor Sheridan Finally Break Through at the Emmys With Season 2 of \u2018Landman\u2019?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JR Wicker accuses the team behind the revenge thriller of copyright infringement for lifting ideas from his screenplay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[439],"class_list":["post-1060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-lionsgate"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018John Wick\u2019 Sparks Idea Theft Lawsuit Against Lionsgate - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1060\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018John Wick\u2019 Sparks Idea Theft Lawsuit Against Lionsgate - US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"JR Wicker accuses the team behind the revenge thriller of copyright infringement for lifting ideas from his screenplay.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1060\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Property Moves\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T21:40:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=1060#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=1060\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f6dcb1ef8e64fe67b72b772b81aa822c\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018John Wick\u2019 Sparks Idea Theft Lawsuit Against Lionsgate\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T21:40:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=1060\"},\"wordCount\":637,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=1060#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a2583407b67cd921687b3ac29170be52.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"lionsgate\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=1060#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=1060\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uspropertymoves.com\\\/?p=1060\",\"name\":\"\u2018John Wick\u2019 Sparks Idea Theft Lawsuit Against Lionsgate - 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