John Wick 5 is official, with Lionsgate confirming the 60-year-old Keanu Reeves is set to return to the role.
The announcement was made on-stage during CinemaCon by Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. Development on John Wick: Chapter 5 has begun, with Thunder Road producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, franchise director and producer Chad Stahelski, and star and producer Keanu Reeves all on-board. No release window was offered.
While it makes sense that yet another mainline John Wick movie would be green lit, given John Wick: Chapter 4 took in over $440 million at the worldwide box office and each of the first four films accomplishing the rare feat of outperforming its predecessor, it perhaps does not make much sense when you consider the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4.
Warning! Spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4 follow.
John Wick appears to die at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 after, once again, defeating the bad guys. We even get to see John Wick’s gravestone, with Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) saying their farewells. But, crucially, we only see John Wick collapse from his injuries and appear to die. I don’t remember getting a look at the death certificate, let’s put it that way.
So, how can Reeves continue as Wick? We don’t have story details yet, but we do have quotes from some of the people putting the movie together that confirm this is a continuation of John Wick’s story.
Fogelson said: “Keanu, Chad, Basil, and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world. We can’t wait for audiences to see where the journey takes us next.”
Iwanyk and Lee added: “It’s so important to get this story right and give John’s story the proper next step. It’s exciting to take the first step on that road.”
As for what a John Wick 5 might entail, check out our breakdown of (spoilers) John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending and what it may mean for the future of the franchise. You can also check out IGN’s 10/10 John Wick: Chapter 4 review.
It’s a busy time for the billion dollar John Wick franchise. In addition to the four mainline films, the John Wick Universe, as it’s called, includes two spinoff films (Ballerina, to be released June 6, and a spinoff directed by and starring Donnie Yen reprising his Caine character, set to start production this summer).
In addition, Lionsgate Television produced The Continental: From the World of John Wick for Peacock and Amazon Prime, and Lionsgate confirmed it’s developing the series John Wick: Under the High Table, which Stahelski and Keanu Reeves are executive producing.
Outside TV and films, Lionsgate recently opened an immersive John Wick experience in Las Vegas and has a John Wick AAA video game in the works.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
