The Joe Ledger thriller series by bestselling author Jonathan Maberry consists of ten novels and several offshoots. The main character, Joe Ledger, is a psychologically broken Baltimore detective who is secretly recruited by the government to lead a new task force called the Department of Military Sciences to take on terrorists using advanced scientific weapons .
Together with his fighting dog Ghost, his team of superior special operators and the resources of the mysterious Mr. Church pits Joe against threats that no other team can stop.
“I really loved reading the Joe Ledger series. It’s an all-time epic action series with intrigue, suspense and such engaging characters,” Stahelski said. “As I read it, I could see the immediate cinematic potential. I’m excited to be working with Jonathan to turn it into a TV series.”
Stahelski was known for his stunt work on The Matrix franchise and the original The Crow before transitioning to directing John Wick. He directed all four installments of the hit franchise and also produced the most recent installment.
“Chad’s career, both behind and in front of the camera, pretty much defines the kinds of things I love to watch. The Matrix, The Crow, John Wick – and so many others are solidly in my wheelhouse. And we’re both lifelong martial artists as well as professional pop-culture geeks,” Maberry said. “When we sat down for the first time to discuss Joe Ledger, it was clear that he not only read the books but deeply and empathetically understood the characters. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone in Hollywood whose mind runs along tracks this similar to my own. He’s also a visionary and a hell of a lot of fun. This is what they mean when they talk about ‘Hollywood magic’.”
Stahelski's 87Eleven Entertainment produced the vampire thriller Day Shift with Netflix's Jamie Foxx, starring Dave Franco and Karla Souza. The company is working on the remake of Highlander for Lionsgate with Henry Cavill; Ghost of Tsushima (Sony/PlayStation), based on the action-adventure game set in feudal Japan; Rainbow Six, based on the Tom Clancy novel starring Michael B. Jordan; an adaptation of the popular Black Samurai novels (Netflix); adapted from Trevanian's Shibumi (Warner Bros); and Man From Nowhere (New Line).
On the television front, 87Eleven is developing the John Wick 4 sequel series, titled Under the High Table, for Lionsgate, as well as Project Nemesis and the Harvath Project, both at Sony Pictures Television.
Maberry is a five-time Bram Stoker Award winner, four-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comics writer and producer. His comics influenced much of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and his vampire novels were adapted into the Netflix series V-Wars.