The John Wick franchise has, in the course of a decade, gone from a relatively small-scale indie movie about a grieving assassin getting revenge for the death of his dog to one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. John Wick: Chapter 4 continued to prove the character’s staying power, delivering higher box office returns than any previous installments.
While it also served as a natural endpoint for the franchise, it looks like the Babayaga will be back for more. The news that John Wick 5 was a go was confirmed at CinemaCon on Tuesday, and it sounds like there’s a good script in place.
“Keanu, Chad, Basil and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world,” Lionsgate Chair Adam Fogelson said.
We still don’t know what the movie’s about or who else will star in it, but Chad Stahelski, who directed John Wick: Chapter 4 will be back for the next installment. Lionsgate also announced that we would be getting an anime prequel to John Wick as well as a Donnie Yen spin-off movie focused on his character Caine that he will also direct.
“Sometimes we’ll use development as an exercise, but is there an opportunity to do [John Wick 5]? Of course, there is, whether it’s for money or for creativity,” Stahelski previously told The Hollywood Reporter when asked whether there would be a fifth film. “Jesus, in the last three years, I’ve already had three or four versions of a John Wick 5. They were different ways to crack the story, but it’s almost a mental exercise for me.”
Before we get that fifth chapter, though, we can look forward to Reeves appearing at least briefly as John Wick in Ballerina, an upcoming spin-off film set between the third and fourth films in the main story.