Highlights
- Director Chad Stahelski hints at the possibility of a John Wick 5, but acknowledges that a good story is crucial before moving forward.
- Stahelski and Keanu Reeves are open to continuing the franchise if they have a compelling narrative to tell.
- The success of the John Wick films is attributed to fan support and a studio that is interested in exploring new directions within the universe, including the upcoming spin-off movie Ballerina.
Director Chad Stahelski broke his silence about a potential JohnWick 5 and the franchise's future with Keanu Reeves, hinting at exciting developments for fans of the action-packed film series.
Following three successful films, Keanu Reeves reprised his role as the badass assassin in JohnWick: Chapter4. The film's conclusion seemingly suggested the character's demise, raising speculation about the future of the parent franchise and the planned spinoffs.
In a recent interview with Inverse, JohnWick director Stahelski discussed the franchise's continuation and noted that he and Reeves are considering the possibility of John Wick 5. While it's not confirmed, Stahelski explained the factors influencing the decision, keeping the potential fifth installment from being a definite certainty. Stahelski said, "I have notebooks and notebooks of s--t behind me, John Wicks 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. We have ideas for days. We just don’t have the story locked. I have no interest in doing the cash grab of bringing JohnWick back for something. Is he a character I like? Of course. And if I did a couple of JohnWick movies, great." The filmmaker also confirmed that Reeves would be a part of the future John Wick movies if they felt they had a good story. He added, "Keanu would do one again in a second if we had a good story. We leave that open-ended. I know that the studio would love us to say we have another one."
Stahelski also emphasized how fans have been crucial to the franchise's success and why they won't come out with another JohnWick film if they don't have a good story to tell. "Keanu and I are always interested in that, but we leave it hanging out there a little bit to figure out if we have something that we’d want to watch," he said. "Second, we have a studio that’s very enthusiastic and not just financially motivated, but they’re just interested in seeing what we could do with it. So, they’ve been super cool of us this year about branching off."
JohnWick has been one of the most critically acclaimed film franchises of the last decade, with each movie doing better than the last one. The latest installment, JohnWick: Chapter4, was massively successful at the box office and earned more than $432 million globally on a production budget of $100 million, becoming the franchise's highest-grossing film. While there is no official confirmation of the fifth movie, the John Wick universe will move forward with the spin-off movie Ballerina.
The film, starring Ana de Armas in the lead, is set between JohnWick: Chapter3 – Parabellum and JohnWick: Chapter4. The movie sees de Armas portraying a ballerina assassin named Rooney who hunts her mother's killers. There is no doubt that fans are excited to see the John Wick universe taking a new direction with the upcoming spinoff, but it is yet to be seen if Ballerina can captivate audiences like the mainline franchise.
The JohnWick movies are available for streaming on Lionsgate Play.
Source: Inverse