A few weeks before John Wick: Chapter 4 made its theatrical debut on March 24th, director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves sounded pretty firm at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival that the movie is going to be the last installment in the film series. But after John Wick: Chapter 4 performed very well at the box office during its opening weekend, the duo, with some encouragement from the film studio Lionsgate, may probably reconsider their decision.
Is there going to be a John Wick 5?
Back in August 2020, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer announced that John Wick: Chapter 5 was already in the works, before John Wick: Chapter 5 had even begun filming. The original plan was to shoot the two films back-to-back, but that didn’t end up happening, primarily because Chad Stahelski thought that he wouldn’t be able to deliver “two unique special experiences” for the audience if he would film the two movies would be filmed consecutively.
“Honestly, the real reason we didn’t do four and five together was because I raised my hand. I even went to Keanu [Reeves] and said, ‘I’m just not good enough to do four and five. I’m good enough to do one. I can make a difference between three and four, but I’m not good enough to somehow magically get better in the middle of the process between four and five,’” Stahelski recalled in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “The reason these movies keep getting better is because we keep getting better, but I need the time to go to school and get better. So that’s the real reason why we divided it up at the time. I’m not a good enough director to deliver two uniquely special experiences.”
But as Stahelski and writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch developed the narrative for John Wick: Chapter 4, the story couldn’t help but gravitate towards a conclusion, as they thought that the only way to make the new film stand out from other John Wick movies in the past was to make it the last chapter.
“They [Lionsgate] saw it as a repetitive thing, but we just thought, ‘Look, the way to make a better, bigger, stronger, faster John Wick is to give something that we haven’t given the other ones and that’s a conclusion,’” Stahelski told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s consequence. You can’t do a movie about consequences and not have consequences. So, luckily, [Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair] Joe Drake and [Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president] Nathan Kahane got behind us.
So John Wick: Chapter 4 wraps up with the death of the titular character (Keanu Reeves), who succumbed to three gunshot wounds he suffered during his final duel with Caine (Donnie Yen). To further establish that Wick is indeed dead, the movie even shows Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) paying their respects to the master assassin’s tombstone.
But it’s likely that the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 will turn out to be a fake-out, as Drake said that John Wick: Chapter 5 is back on the table after the former performed astonishingly at the box office during its opening weekend, earning a whopping total of 141.4 million worldwide.
“There’s a will and there’s an openness. And you could certainly interpret that ending in different ways,” Drake told The Hollywood Reporter of how a fifth John Wick film would be possible following Chapter 4’s conclusion. “We’re all going to take a tiny rest here and then scratch at ideas about whether there’s a credible way to get into five. But there’s no guarantee.”
Drake is also well aware that Stahelski and Reeves are “very protective about never screwing with the audience”, so he knows that they need to come up with an acceptable way to reverse the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 in case they move forward with a fifth movie. “We certainly have our work cut out for us,” Drake said.
Will Keanu Reeves return for John Wick: Chapter 5?
Keanu Reeves has yet to officially comment on whether he will come back for a potential John Wick: Chapter 5, but Chad Stahelski told The Hollywood Reporter a week before the movie’s release that they are done with the John Wick franchise “for the moment.” “We’re going to give John Wick a rest,” Stahelski said. “[But] I’m sure the studio has a plan. If everyone loves it (John Wick: Chapter 4) and it goes kooky, then we’ll take a quiet minute.”
What will John Wick: Chapter 5 be about?
No plot details on John Wick: Chapter 5 have been revealed yet, but Chad Stahelski shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter how he and Keanu Reeves might start building the story for the potential movie.
“Wicks always, for some weird reason, always get the latest release date in Japan. It’s always like, three months later,” said Stahelski. “[So] Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we’ll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, ‘What do you think?’ We’ll have a couple 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins. If those ideas stick, maybe we’ll make a movie.”
While a sequel to John Wick: Chapter 4 seems to be the more popular option to continue the John Wick franchise, Stahelski previously alluded to a prequel for the potential next installment in the film series. “You could certainly go earlier [with the story],” said Stahelski.
Is Keanu Reeves part of the John Wick spinoff movie?
Whether or not Keanu Reeves will return for a potential John Wick: Chapter 5, fans can still watch him on the big screen in the upcoming John Wick spinoff movie, titled Ballerina. Set between the events of 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4, Ballerina follows ballerina assassin Rooney (Ana de Armas) as she hunts those who killed her family.
Reeves is confirmed to reprise his role as John Wick in the spinoff, along with other John Wick action franchise veterans, including Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Lance Reddick, and Anjelica Huston. Ballerina will also introduce fresh new faces to the franchise, including Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, and Catalina Sandino Moreno, who have been cast in undisclosed roles.
Aside from Ballerina, the John Wick universe is expected to get even bigger with the upcoming John Wick prequel series The Continental. Set to premiere on Peacock, The Continental is set in the ‘70s and will reveal how a young Winston got control of the titular assassin hotel and safe haven.
Colin Woodell will play young Winston in the series, along with Ayomide Adegun as Charon, Katie McGrath as The Adjudicator, Peter Greene as Uncle Charlie, and Mel Gibson as Cormac. The TV show is expected to introduce many other newcomers portraying a variety of Continental guests and killers.
Ballerina is expected to open in theaters in 2024, while The Continental is set to premiere on Peacock in later 2023.
About John Wick: Chapter 4
In John Wick: Chapter 4, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.
Is there a scene after John Wick 4?
Yes, John Wick: Chapter 4 has a post-credits scene and it shows Akira (Rina Sawayama) approaching Caine (Donnie Yen) to take revenge for her father’s death. The teaser for a potential showdown comes after Caine kills Akira’s father, Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada), early in the movie. Koji was John Wick’s friend and the manager of the Osaka Continental Hotel.
John Wick: Chapter 4 trailer
Haven’t seen John Wick: Chapter 4 yet? You can watch the official trailer for the movie below:
