There are a few key milestones in becoming a cinematic legend. Halloween costumes, action figures, and fast food restaurant tie-ins are all significant, but few are as impressive as theme park attractions. Lionsgate has announced that a John Wick roller coaster is now in development and set to open early next year. Themed to the highly-praised action trilogy of the same name, the John Wick coaster will be titled John Wick: Open Contract, giving riders the chance to hunt Baba Yaga himself or help him escape the many assassins hoping to kill him.
The news comes from Variety Magazine, which details the announcement, the ride specifics, and the outlook for the future given the health risks presented by COVID-19. John Wick: Open Contract is a roller coaster set to open in Dubai's Motiongate park, and it appears to be a wing-type roller coaster, allowing the passenger to board on either the left or right sides of the track. Depending on which queue they choose, riders will either participate in hunting John Wick or protecting him. Whichever queue is chosen will create a significantly different ride-going experience. Riders waiting in the line queue will walk through a reconstruction of The Continental, the hotel central to the society of assassins to which John belongs, immersing riders into the world of John Wick and displaying key moments from the films. As the John Wick trilogy is focused on storytelling, the filmmakers behind John Wick have worked closely with ride designers to deliver on an immersive and intense roller-coaster (and ten stories high) experience.
Open Contract will be joined by another roller coaster called High Roller based on the magicians-turned-thieves films Now You See Me.  Riders will walk through the casino from the film, and ultimately participate in a grand heist that the Four Horsemen are planning. While no further specifics were given, the coaster is expected to launch in early 2021, also at Dubai's Motiongate Park. Motiongate Park is currently opened at a 50% capacity, and Lionsgate hopes to pursue more location-based attractions themed to Lionsgate properties, and remain competitive with the likes of Disney and Universal Studios.
There have been many wild ideas for location-based attractions, and a John Wick roller coaster certainly is one of them. Many have experimented with various experimental attractions and found success, including a Godzilla zipline in Awaji Island Anime Park. Seeing a John Wick coaster come to life will certainly be interesting once it releases. However, the bigger question to ask will be the state of theme parks in 2021. Theme parks are essentially crippled, tightened with public health restrictions, and discouraging many from going to theme parks. Despite this, Lionsgate, and other theme park owners like Universal, are pressing on, seeing location-based entertainment as a risky but worthy business endeavor.  In fact, Universal Studios is still working on a Nintendo-themed theme park expansion in Japan, and is targeting a release for next Spring.
John Wick: Open Contract launches early 2021 at Motiongate Park in Dubai.
Source: Variety