John Wick 5: Everything We Know about Keanu Reeves' Return

This iconic franchise was supposed to be five movies long; then it was shortened to just four; now it’s five again — and here’s everything that we know about its future.

The John Wick franchise is a cultural phenomenon in its own right: from a small action movie it swiftly grew into one of the most iconic action franchises ever that set the new golden standards for all action movies to come. Well, with Keanu Reeves as its lead actor and Chad Stahelski as the director, it’s not a surprise, really.

The franchise was initially supposed to include five movies but was cut down to just four somewhere along the lines of production. According to director Stahelski, he realized that there was no need to drag the story out further, so he gave the fan-favorite protagonist the most fitting and lowkey-satisfying finale to tie the ends.

But letting go of a billion-dollar franchise after only four movies? What are you, crazy? Of course, Lionsgate doesn’t want to finish John Wick after passing the $1B mark!

So just as we (and many others, to be fair) predicted, it wasn’t long after the grand finale that the first hints of John Wick 5 started appearing. Director Stahelski was quite reluctant about this idea at first but eventually, he confirmed that the fifth movie was going to be made, and even theorized about how to make it work after JW4.

For now, we know that the new (and this time, final — pinky finger promise!) John Wick installment will come out after the two planned spin-offs — The Continental and Ballerina. Director Stahelski is cautious about continuing from where the fourth JW movie left off, so he wants to start building from the spin-offs, using their help.

“We're building out the world and when that fifth movie comes, [it] will be organically grown out of how we're starting to tell [Ballerina and The Continental’s] stories," the studio’s president Joe Drake explained during Lionsgate's Q4 2023 earnings call.

We can definitely expect some (if not all) of the cast members to come back. First of all, the movie won’t be made without Keanu Reeves himself. Second, apart from Wick’s buddies from the original movies — Winston, Bowler King, Cain, and Tracker, — we kind of expect Ana de Armas ’s character from Ballerina to be featured, too.

Story-wise, John Wick 5 is a dangerous idea due to the incredible and fitting ending of the previous entry. John Wick’s death after fulfilling his mission felt right even though it was sad, and bringing him back from the dead would totally risk ruining the entire franchise… But it’s possible since neither Winston nor King was certain he truly died.