Wil There Be a Fifth John Wick Movie?

When it comes to John Wick, audiences always assume he’ll be back. That’s not just something the 21st Century’s most successful action hero likes to say; he’s proven it accurately time after time. That is, at least, until John Wick: Chapter 4 ended with the titular hero’s fate seemingly decided for good. An emotional moment with Winston on the steps of The Basilica Of Sacré Coeur De Montmartre led to fans watching in dismay as John Wick closes his eyes for potentially the last time.

Since the credits first rolled on John Wick: Chapter 4, fans have refused to accept that John Wick’s life is over. Instead, they’ve been holding their collective breaths, feverishly hoping for the dog-loving hitman to announce his return to the living in John Wick: Chapter 5. Will John Wick ride again? The announcement of Keanu Reeves’ return to the franchise in John Wick: Chapter 5 seems to indicate that he is perhaps not as dead as first thought.

Updated on July 10, 2024, by Natasha Elder: The John Wick franchise has been significant for the action genre. Its success speaks for itself as far as its popularity, with even a three-hour runtime not dissuading fans from seeing the film in theaters. Such success naturally leads to fans demanding another addition. The end of John Wick: Chapter 4, with John’s supposed death, didn’t break this pattern. We wanted to update this article with new information regarding John Wick: Chapter 5, as well as the spin-off film Ballerina so that fans of the series are better informed as to when they can expect the next release.

Are There Plans For John Wick: Chapter 5?

The Success of John Wick 4 Potentially Influenced Stahelski’s Willingness to Do a Fifth

A new report confirms how much John Wick franchise lead Keanu Reeves made for each film installment as anticipation for the next sequel builds.

The only group of people that might want John Wick: Chapter 5 to happen more than its fans are the executives who run Lionsgate. After all, despite its incredibly long runtime, John Wick: Chapter 4 became the highest-grossing entry of the franchise when it collected over $426 Million worldwide. No wonder Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Joe Drake remarked earlier this year: “We’re not ready to say goodbye to Keanu with this franchise.”

There have been three video games based on the John Wick movies: Payday 2: John Wick (2014), John Wick Chronicles (2017), and John Wick Hex (2019).
The character of Caine in John Wick: Chapter 4 was initially much more stereotypical in name and design. For example, he was potentially going to be named Shang and was supposed to wear traditional Chinese clothing. Donnie Yen refused to play the character until that changed.

The often-forgotten truth is that John Wick: Chapter 5 was initially supposed to shoot back-to-back with Chapter 4. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis and a grueling production schedule ended that idea prematurely. Following the completion of Chapter 4, director Chad Stahelski noted that he and Keanu Reeves were likely “done for the moment.” Then, Chapter 4 became a runaway hit at the box office, and suddenly, Stahelski’s stance on a potential sequel softened. He told SyFy:

If a gun was put to my head and they said you have to make three more John Wick movies, could we sustain it with action set pieces and storyline threads, and could we put in some tributes or love letter Easter eggs for things? Yeah, we could totally do that.

The real question for both Stahelski and Reeves was: Why make a fifth film? Before every John Wick film is shot, Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski meet at the Imperium Hotel in Japan and drink whisky together until they figure out the next story arc for their enigmatic hero. Whether John Wick lived or died was decided by the ideas that emerged from these sessions. And guess what? Producer Basil Iwanyk has promised that Keanu and Chad will reconnect soon over a few glasses of Yamazaki in Japan.

What Would John Wick: Chapter 5 Be About?

The High Table Could Still be a Target

John Wick Part 5 – How the Series Might Continue

John Wick: Chapter 4 seems to close the book on the action series, but there are ways that the planned fifth movie can still be an organic sequel.

The most significant sticking point regarding John Wick: Chapter 5 is what it could be about. After all, John Wick seemingly died at the end of the previous entry. Director Chad Stahelski has a few ideas about action-packed set pieces swimming around in his head, but the story has yet to present itself to him. Speaking with Empire in the Summer of 2023, he told them:

I don’t have a take right now. But I could wake up tomorrow and have a cool idea that I’d pitch to Keanu, or he would pitch to me, and it might hit that chord of, “Oh my God, we got to do this right now.”

Clearly, given the upcoming production of the film, Stahelski must have stumbled upon the right idea.

John Wick’s storytellers have a handful of options they could pursue regarding narrative choices. For instance, they could go the prequel route to focus on John Wick’s past and how he earned his nickname Baba Yaga. Then again, why look to the past when there’s already an entire television series called The Continental exploring the franchise’s roots? While John Wick is not in the show, it still expands upon the world in a way that potentially makes a prequel a bit redundant.

Derek Kolstad is the creator of the John Wick franchise, as well as the spin-off show The Continental: From the World of John Wick.
The Continental: From the World of John Wick has yet to be renewed for a second season despite relatively good ratings.

Another possibility would be to fill in the gaps between chapters by creating new stories between the events of the first four films. This is reportedly a similar strategy that the Ballerina spin-off film will be employing, so it’s also unlikely to be used here. That only leaves two options: a franchise reboot or to bring John Wick back from the dead. A soft reboot that moves away from the Continental, High Table, and John Wick could be exciting but is also a substantial financial risk. The safest bet is a return to what’s guaranteed to work, and that’s Keanu Reeves.

Wick’s victory at the end of the fourth film didn’t destroy The High Table, which means that Wick’s vengeance still needs to be fully completed. Moreover, despite his apparent demise, the movie never showed Wick die and even boasted an alternate ending. So, John Wick: Chapter 5 could prove that the rumors regarding John Wick’s demise were greatly exaggerated before he finally abolishes the High Table once and for all. This would also make sense for his character, given that he wants to live a normal life, but is motivated by revenge. Committing to the idea that he is dead to live peacefully, only to change his mind and carry out his revenge instead, is definitely in-character for John Wick.

Would Keanu Reeves Return as John Wick?

As Long as the Story is Right, Reeves Will Return