UPDATE: I’m being told that “John Wick 5” is not shooting next year. Another strike for Richtman. However, the film is very much in the early stages of development and will eventually, hopefully, go into production.
EARLIER: Despite John Wick presumably - SPOILERS- dying in ‘Chapter 4’, a fifth John Wick movie is indeed happening.
It’s been confirmed that production on “John Wick 5” is set to begin in 2025. Keanu Reeves will be returning in the lead role. Are we surprised? Of course not.
The R-rated, nearly 3-hour, “John Wick: Chapter 4” earned almost $200M domestically, and nearly half a billion dollars worldwide. In current-day Hollywood, a franchise ending with those types of numbers is almost unheard of.
And yet, right after ‘Chapter 4’ was released, you had director Chad Stahelski (via Happy Sad Confused) practically closing the books on more ‘Wick’ films by saying there would have to be a "real reason" to bring Wick back. Stahelski added that he didn’t want to insult the audience’s intelligence and that he "would feel ripped off" as an audience member if they made another sequel.
However, a month later, Lionsgate President, Joe Drake, confirmed that a fifth ‘John Wick’ was “in development.” Go figure.
October 2023, Stahelski changed his tune — he confirmed he already had ideas written down for five more John Wick sequels! Yes, chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. How many more kills can Wick commit? How much further can you stretch this franchise out? Quite a bit, it turns out.
November 2023, we got official word from the Lionsgate boss that the script for “John Wick: Chapter 5” was being written. They started right after the WGA strike ended, not wasting any time.
The character of John Wick has essentially turned into a supernatural being that can repeatedly get shot, stabbed, mauled, supposedly buried, and still survive. There have been numerous moments, throughout the series, where Wick should have died, but miraculously he got back up and continued on. Wick’s kill count in the series currently stands at 439 victims.