May 2021 could see an unprecedented box-office showdown between Keanu Reeves and himself, as The Matrix 4 and John Wick: Chapter 4 are now scheduled to open in theaters on exactly the same day.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that the highly anticipated fourth movie of The Matrix franchise will be released on May 21st, 2021, which happens to be also the opening date of another Reeves’ movie, John Wick: Chapter 4.
Though the release dates for both films can still be changed, there’s a solid reason why Warner Bros. and Lionsgate are both looking to release their respective movies on that particular weekend. For one, May 21st is expected to be one of the best weekends of 2021, as the opening weekend will be cushioned on the second frame by the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
It’s also on the same weekend where 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded opened with a then-record $134 million Thursday to Sunday debut, including a near-record $91 million Friday to Sunday frame, before grossing $279 million in the domestic box office and a total of $742 million worldwide. The weekend also helped this year’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum become a blockbuster hit, as with the case for all four Shrek movies, and all three Star Wars prequels.
While it would be very interesting to see two of Reeves’ movies going head to head at the box office, Forbes reported that Lionsgate will likely find a new release date for John Wick: Chapter 4, as franchise star Lance Reddick reportedly mentioned a few weeks ago that scheduling conflicts for the respective Reeves action sequels would potentially cause a delay for the next John Wick flick.
But in the event Warner Bros. and Lionsgate ultimately stick with their original plan, Reeves would join the list of actors who have appeared in multiple movies opening on the same day. According to ComicBook.com, the most recent instance of this occurring was on March 17th, 2017 when Beauty and the Beast and T2 Trainspotting hit the theaters at the same time. Both films starred Ewan McGregor.
Two weeks before that happened, on March 3rd, 2017 to be exact, Logan and indie comedy Table 19 opened in cinemas. Both of movies featured Stephen Merchant. While there are other examples of this taking place, for an actor to appear in two live-action movies that are both the fourth in their series and share the same genre is something that has yet to happen.
Lana Wachowski, co-director and co-writer of The Matrix trilogy, will write, direct, and produce The Matrix 4, which will also see the return of Carrie Anne Moss to the franchise.
There’s currently no director attached to John Wick: Chapter 4, but it won’t be a surprise if Chad Stahelski returns to the director’s chair after helming the first three installments of the film series.