Although the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 appeared to close the book on the master assassin's story, fans and producers alike are anxious to see another installment in the John Wick franchise. Director Chad Stahelski has stepped in to give his thoughts on the matter and explain why he's hesitant to say yes to John Wick: Chapter 5.
Released in 2014, John Wick took the action genre by storm, and its sequels continued to bring audiences to theaters worldwide. Stahelski's background as a stunt performer and stunt director has played a large role in the franchise's success. His knowledge of stunt work allowed the John Wick movies to rely heavily on complex action scenes that are creative, intricate, and convincing. But the fact that these movies play to Stahelski's strengths doesn't mean they're easy on him.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Stahelski discussed John Wick: Chapter 4 and the possibility of John Wick: Chapter 5. Addressing the fact that Lionsgate had approached him with the idea of shooting John Wick: Chapter 4 and John Wick: Chapter 5 back-to-back, Stahelski explained why he turned the studio down. "I just felt, as a director, I’ve been a part of projects that have done two films together at once and it just… I can’t think of one that was… at least for me, I don’t know how I would do it. It just, creatively, I don’t know how to get my head around that," Stahelski said.
Stahelski also emphasized how important it's been for him to take time off between these movies. "I think the greatest part is after each John Wick is I took two years off to go live, and get better, and do everything that we were just talking about, to travel, to read more, to get better," he said. "I don’t know how to do a movie back-to-back and get better for the second one, because they’ll be released a year apart, right?" Stahelski did clarify that John Wick: Chapter 5 isn't off the table, saying, "Again, super grateful for that opportunity, and if it does come to fruition sometime in the future, I don’t know what John Wick 5 is right now, I may have thoughts, we have ideas, fragments of stuff, but I think I need a little time to breathe and see how this one does."
Whether John Wick: Chapter 5 happens or not, the world the franchise has created is nowhere near done. The Continental is an upcoming miniseries that explores the secret world of assassins that John Wick lives in but is set in the 1970s against the rise of the American Mafia. Ana de Armas will star in the John Wick spinoff movie Ballerina, which takes place between John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 and includes cameos by both Keanu Reeves and Lance Reddick. Both projects step back in time to tell more tales in the John Wick universe - there has yet to be any confirmation for a project that takes place after the events of John Wick: Chapter 4.
While John Wick's fate looked pretty final at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, Stahelski seems confident that there's a way forward for John Wick. It's unclear if that way forward includes Reeves' John Wick or a different assassin. It's difficult to imagine a John Wick movie without its titular character; without Reeves at the center, following movies run the risk of just being run-of-the-mill action movies with little to set them apart from the rest of the franchise. However, Stahelski has been successful thus far; fans should trust that if the franchise continues, Stahelski will ensure its continued quality.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is playing in theaters now.
Source: Screen Rant Plus/YouTube