JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 5 Confirmed to Be in Development
John Wick: Chapter 4 took the action franchise to an insane new level, and I enjoyed every freakin’ minute of it! After the movie was released, there was a lot of talk regarding if there would be another film or not. In the end, the movie was a huge success for Lionsage and they are definitely going to want to keep it going for as long as the audience wants it, and the audience wants it.
During the recent Lionsgate's Q4 2023 earnings call, Motion Picture Group chairman Joe Drake confirmed that John Wick: Chapter 5 is in development! He shared:
"We're now moving across that franchise, not just in the AAA video game space, but looking at what the regular cadence of spin-offs, television really growing that universe so that there is a steady cadence of a franchise that there's clear appetite by the audience. What is official is that, as you know, Ballerina is the first spinoff that comes out next year. We're in development on three others, including [John Wick 5] and including television series, The Continental, will be airing soon. And so, we're building out the world and when that five movie comes, will be organic -- will be organically grown out of how we're starting to tell those stories. But you can rely on a regular cadence of John Wick."
So basically, the John Wick franchise isn’t going away anytime soon. They have long-term plans for the franchise, and as long as they keep pumping out great films and TV shows, I’ll continue to show up to watch them!
Lionsgate previously explained that they are not ready to say goodbye to the character. Franchise producer Erica Lee also said that everyone on the team will want to get back together to do it again. Then there’s director Chad Stahelski, who said that he and his team are open to it. He said:
“It’s very flattering for them to come back and say, ‘We want more,’ and it’s not just a cash grab. It’s legitimately the audience wants more. I think we all need that little bit of time to go, ‘Whew. Let’s see what’s next.’ … If Keanu and I, a few months from now sit down at a whiskey bar in Japan again and go, ‘Yep, we’ll never do another one of those,’ and then all of a sudden go, ‘Yeah, but I got an idea.’ We’re open to it.”
Stahelski also previously said that he could make these John Wick films for the rest of his career and that he and Reeves have a ton of ideas. So, they need to stop pretending that they don’t know what else to do with the franchise.
“I enjoy making these movies because there’s no limit. We create our own mythology, and we have a studio that both stays out of our way and supports us on the wacky decisions. If people go see the movie, and it makes money, and they came back to us, Keanu and I have ideas for days. I could live here for the rest of my career. If people like it and want to watch more, I could think of way worse ways to spend your career. But, you know, we’re in the entertainment business. We’ll let the audience figure that out.”
Keanu Reeves went on to say: "As far as my legs can take me. As far as the audience wants to go." Then when talking about the future of the franchise and if we’d see a fifth chapter, Reeves said before Chapter 4 came out:
"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."
Now that the audience has responded and the dust has settled, Lionsgate is ready to launch the next wave of John Wick projects. Are you excited about the future of the franchise?