

Development īoth Stahelski and Leitch had expressed to both Bates and Richard they wished for the compositions of the film to be in line with John Wick's alter ego and former life, with Richard describing the two as wanting a "fun, raw, aggressive, unorthodox score", as well as the emphasis on the music of the piece being able to create an atmosphere to differentiate between the set pieces and fight sequences of John Wick. On July 11, 2014, it was officially announced that Bates and Richard had composed the score for the film. Director Chad Stahelski and producer Dave Leitch approached Bates to write the score for John Wick after filming had completed, and it was then that Bates had the thought of working with Richard, explaining, "Joel came to the table with great ideas and a sensibility that was exactly as I felt we should approach the music."

Having been friends for some time, as well as having and sharing common interests and taste in music, both Bates and Richard have wanted to work together musically for some period of time.
