Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Kolstad attended Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart and later studied business administration at Taylor University in Indiana.
Kolstad sold a script titled Scorn to Thunder Road Pictures, which signed Keanu Reeves for the lead role in April 2013.
At Reeves' suggestion, the film was renamed John Wick after the title character,[2] whom Kolstad had named after his maternal grandfather.
[4] Kolstad wrote the video game John Wick: Chronicles and was involved with the creation of a comic book series.
[12] Kolstad wrote the screenplay for the 2021 film Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk, and two episodes of the 2021 Marvel Studios television series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.