During a Lionsgate earnings call Motion Picture Group Chair Joe Drake confirmed that a fifth film for the Keanu Reeves-led John Wick franchise is already in early development. Following the astonishing success of John Wick: Chapter 4, the studio has put John Wick 5 back on the table. The fifth sequel is slated to see Chad Stahelski return as the director alongside Reeves in the titular role of the iconic assassin. The fourth film brought in $73.8 million USD domestically and even an A CinemaScore from audiences. Overseas, the film made an impressive feat as well, with a debut of $141.1 million USD. Drake reaffirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the fifth film is no longer out of the question.
He explained, “There’s a will and there’s an openness. And you could certainly interpret that ending in different ways. We’re all going to take a tiny rest here and then scratch at ideas about whether there’s a credible way to get into five. But there’s no guarantee.” Drake also noted Reeves and Stahelski’s creative process, “Keanu and Chad, rightly so, are very protective about never screwing with the audience. So we certainly have our work cut out for us…Keanu is so beloved and that character is so beloved; that’s not lost on him.” Regardless of how the fifth film will turn out, Reeves is slated to return to the character in the future.
He also shows up in Ballerina, the series’ first spinoff starring Ana de Armas as another assassin. Drake also discussed the process of how the franchise is moving stating, “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 a clear appetite by the audience.” He added, “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, which will be airing soon. And so, we’re building out the world and when that five movies come, 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.”
