The John Wick series is presently in a peculiar place. The most recent film, John Wick: Chapter 4, is by far the biggest blockbuster hit in the franchise, having earned over $400 million worldwide… and yet, the film notably ends with the titular character’s death. Because of this killer finale, we don’t actually know if we will ever see a John Wick: Chapter 5, with the future of the big screen saga in the hands of director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves – but if the sequel does get made, the former will definitely be ready for it, as he apparently has notebooks full of cool ideas to execute.
Inverse recently spoke with Stahelski about his work on the John Wick films, and it was while discussing the expansion of the franchise and the release of The Continental that the filmmaker commented on what may come next. He describes John Wick: Chapter 4 as a “swan song,” and the narrative certainly works as a finale for the character, but he adds that if a new story comes along, he has already imagined ways to make it shine. Said the director,
I have notebooks and notebooks of shit 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 John Wick back for something. Is he a character I like? Of course. And if I did a couple of John Wick movies, great. 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.
At the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, it’s heavily implied that Keanu Reeves’ eponymous protagonist dies following his duel with Donnie Yen’s Kane… but any seasoned pop culture fan note that we never actually see him die/see a body. The last scene of the blockbuster, not including the badass post-credits sequence, features Winston (Ian McShane) and The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) standing over Wick’s grave, but that could easily be read as metaphorical: it’s perhaps the idea of “John Wick” that has died, and the man is now existing beyond that legend.
A sequel would add clarity to what exists as intentional ambiguity, and it doesn’t sound like that interests Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves at the moment. That will change if they come up with a narrative that they are passionate about and makes sense as a follow-up to the conclusion of John Wick:Chapter 4, but that idea hasn’t surfaced yet. The studio will certainly be keeping the pressure on, as the 2023 hit film outgrossed its predecessor in the series by over $100 million worldwide.
Fans of John Wick will just have to be patient for now… though we won’t actually have to wait all that long before we see The Baba Yaga back on the big screen. The next feature addition to the action franchise canon will be Ballerina starring Ana de Armas, and it’s been confirmed that Keanu Reeves has a small role/cameo (the story takes place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4). The film will also feature Ian McShane’s return as Winston and Lance Reddick’s final performance as Charon. Lionsgate has scheduled the Len Wiseman-directed movie is set to arrive in theaters on June 7, 2024.