Back in August 2020, it was announced that John Wick: Chapter 5 was not only in development, but it was going to be shot back-to back with John Wick: Chapter 4, one of the 2023 movie releases on the docket. However, Lionsgate ultimately decided to make Chapter 4 on its own, and as things currently stand, there’s no guarantee yet that Chapter 5 will actually happen. Why it this? Keanu Reeves explained that it ultimately boils down to audience reactions.
We’re a little under two months away from John Wick: Chapter 4 finally hitting the big screen, as the movie having previously been slated for May 21, 2021 and May 27, 2022. Last August, director Chad Stahelski it was Lionsgate’s “intention” to keep the John Wick film series going past Chapter 4, but on the subject of why John Wick: Chapter 5 hasn’t been greenlit yet, Keanu Reeves said the following to Total Film:
You have to see how the audience responds to what we did. The only reason we’ve had a chance to make these movies is that people have liked what we have done. So I think we have to wait and see how the audience responds to it. Hopefully they’ll like it.
Considering that the three John Wick movies released so far were critical and commercial success, that’s a good indicator that John Wick: Chapter 4 will follow suit. Still, I don’t blame Keanu Reeves and the other people behind the John Wick saga for not wanting to get ahead of themselves. There have certainly been enough franchises that have plotted out movies years in advance, only to scrap those plans when one of those installments underperforms, if not outright bombs. Just look at the Fantastic Beasts film series and its diminishing returns; as of this writing, there’s still no word about if Fantastic Beasts 4 is moving forward.
So assuming John Wick: Chapter 4 is well received by the general public like its predecessors, then that will boost the chances of John Wick: Chapter 5 moving forward. However, the good news is that even on the off chance Chapter 5 isn’t made, the John Wick franchise as a whole is being kept afloat in the near future with other projects. Later this year, the event series The Continental, which will follow Winston Scott in the 1970s, is set to debut on Peacock, having previously been set up at Starz. Ana de Armas is also starring in the spinoff movie Ballerina, which will take place between the third and fourth John Wick movies, and see Keanu Reeves reprising John alongside Ian McShane’s Winston, Lance Reddick’s Charon and Angelica Huston’s The Director.
John Wick: Chapter 4 opens on March 24, and among the new faces the title assassin will cross paths with this time around include Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama and Clancy Brown. We here at CinemaBlend will let you if Lionsgate decides to move forward with John Wick: Chapter 5, but for now, the first three John Wick movies can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.