John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski said that, at the moment, the future of the franchise is secured.
In an interview with Collider, Stahelski was asked about the possibility of John Wick 5. According to the director, the future of the John Wick franchise, which stars Keanu Reeves as the titular action hero, is ultimately up to the studio, Lionsgate. “[As of right] now it is the studio’s [full] intention to continue the franchise,” Stahelski said.
“And look, I’m not going to we’ve all seen directors and producers where they go, ‘Yes. I don’t know. I guess I’ll do five,’ or it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah.’ And I’m just, ‘Look, man. ‘John Wick 1′ was a goof,” he said. “We made it as a fun little action movie that we’d like to see.’ And the fact that now nine years later, it’s changed our lives. It changed my life. It changed Keanu’s life. It’s changed a lot of other people’s lives. And people still want to see more.”
Lionsgate Wants More John Wick
John Wick 5 was greenlit by Lionsgate in August 2020 with the intention for it to film back-to-back with John Wick: Chapter 4, set to arrive in theaters on March 4, 2023. “We’re also busy preparing scripts for the next two installments of our John Wick action franchise, with John Wick 4 slated to hit theatres Memorial Day weekend 2022,” Lionsgate CEO John Feltheimer said at the time. “We hope to shoot both John Wick 4 & 5 back to back when Keanu becomes available early next year.”
Reeves has already been confirmed for John Wick Chapter 4 which was announced in 2019 and was originally set for a 2021 release date. However, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the film was pushed to May 27, 2022 before being delayed almost a full year to 2023. Also joining the film is Clancy Brown in an undisclosed role, along with other franchise newcomers Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Japanese-British pop superstar Rina Sawayama and Ana de Armas. Actors returning to the John Wick saga include Ian McShane as Winston, Lance Reddick as Charon and Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King.
John Wick: Chapter 4 began filming in June 2021, with the movie shooting in Berlin, Paris, Japan and New York City. This is the first John Wick installment not to be written by series creator Derek Kolstad. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum co-writer Shay Hatten is handling writing duties along with Michael Finch.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is set to arrive in theaters on March 4, 2023.
